Chapter 204: Impossible

[Chapter 204: Impossible]

Standing at the back of the boat, the ferryman named Laviso was over fifty, gray-haired and bearded. It was evident that he was witnessing a scene of two women kissing under the Bridge of Sighs for the first time. After a moment of stunned silence, he burst into laughter, giving a thumbs-up to Elisabeth and Julia. He mischievously winked at Eric and shouted something in Italian.

Though Eric couldn't understand the words, he could guess that the old man was mocking him, probably thinking that he was trying to court one of the ladies, only to be thwarted by the other. Eric could only smile awkwardly, unable to explain due to the language barrier.

However, the image of the two ladies kissing under the bridge was quite beautiful. After laughing, Eric instinctively lifted his camera and snapped a few pictures to capture the moment.

Julia widened her eyes, feeling Elisabeth's arms around her waist, and her soft, red lips brushing against her own. She was dazed for over half a minute. Hearing the click of Eric's camera shutter snapped her back to reality. Flustered, she pushed away the lady holding her and stumbled through her protest, "Liz, you... how can you do that!"

Elisabeth, seeing Julia's flushed face, couldn't help but pull her closer and planted a playful kiss on her cheek. Then she raised her head, playfully domineering, and said to Eric, "Eric, from now on, Julia belongs to me. You're not allowed to bully her anymore."

"Liz, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Julia finally grew anxious upon hearing Elisabeth's words and pinched Elisabeth's waist. Elisabeth screamed and retaliated. For a moment, they created a ruckus, causing their small gondola to sway. The startled ferryman, Laviso, quickly shouted for them to stop. At last, Julia and Elisabeth ceased their antics.

...

The three of them spent the entire morning wandering along the Grand Canal. After lunch, Eric inquired with a local guide and then headed straight to a well-known Venetian mask shop via a water bus.

"I don't like these things," Elisabeth said as they entered the shop, eyeing the walls lined with an array of masks ranging from simple to ornate.

"Why not?" Eric asked, lifting a golden mask without a mouth and admiring it.

"I read that these masks were originally worn by cheating nobles and fugitives, symbolizing disguise and pretense," Elisabeth replied, walking alongside Eric.

"Oh, so you think that people don't wear masks when they interact with each other?" Eric casually responded, putting down the simple mask and picking up a white ghost mask decorated with golden patterns, playfully placing it over Julia's face and observing her.

Elisabeth pondered Eric's words for a moment but couldn't help but retort, "There's definitely a facade, but at least it's not so blatantly obvious."

"You're just tangled up in the argument of what's real and what's not, and it's not easy to articulate. Look, I'm not wearing a mask, but in a way, I am. To avoid being seen through, I wouldn't reveal whether I'm truly masked or not. However, if someone is genuinely wearing a mask, you can spot it instantly. Those who put a mask over their face are often more honest about it, while those who hide behind smiles can be more hypocritical."

Elisabeth carefully considered Eric's words and, while she had to concede to his reasoning once more, she stubbornly replied, "You... you're just playing with semantics."

"Think what you want," Eric waved a hand to the shopkeeper waiting at the side. "Excuse me, do you speak English?"

"Of course," the shopkeeper, a man in his forties with a small mustache, nodded and smoothly asked in English, "Sir, which one do you have your eye on?"

Eric looked around before saying, "I want the whole set; that includes a hat and cape, but it seems they are not here."

"Follow me," the shopkeeper replied, leading Eric to a separate room. "Here, feel free."

Without overly promoting the items, the shopkeeper left the room and returned to behind the counter. Eric didn't mind at all; he preferred the freedom to select products on his own. He chose a hat, a cape, and other small items, playfully dressing Julia as if she were a model.

"Hey, how rude of you! Did you even ask Julia if she wants you to dress her up?" Elisabeth chimed in, visibly displeased.

Wearing the mask, Julia quickly shook her head, "No... it's fine."

Eric smugly lifted his chin at Elisabeth, who stomped her foot in frustration and glared at Julia, thinking, "You deserve to be picked on."

After a while, with Eric's flair, Julia was completely adorned with the mask and cape. The wide-brimmed white hat was decorated with a purple feather, while the purple cloak was embellished with exquisite golden patterns. She had a light purple scarf around her neck, and in her hands, she held a purple silk fan, wearing black, long-sleeved gloves.

"What do you think?" Eric asked, bringing Julia in front of a full-length mirror.

"It's... it's beautiful," Julia nodded, gazing at her reflection through the mask.

Elisabeth leaned closer, her eyes betraying her intrigue, but she asked, "Why purple?"

"Purple represents mystery. Don't you think it matches the style of the mask?" Eric replied.

"I still think white is prettier," Elisabeth pointed to a white cloak hanging on a rack.

"Then we'll get a white set later," Eric promised, instructing Julia to take off the current outfit and have the shopkeeper wrap it up. He then spent another hour gathering different styles of costumes.

Elisabeth helped Eric take down a hat and handed it to him. "What do you need all these for?"

"I'm giving them as gifts. When you come to Venice, you have to bring back something," Eric explained.

A teasing smirk crept across Elisabeth's face. "Gifts for women, right?"

Eric just smiled noncommittally. Seeing Eric's silent admission made Elisabeth hesitate for a moment before she scornfully muttered, "What a playboy."

Meanwhile, Julia, who was caught in the middle under the mask, could feel her earlier excitement slightly dimming as she caught Eric's awkward expression.

After gathering five sets, Eric finally approached the counter to pay.

Inquiring about the currency, the shopkeeper calculated for a moment and cheerfully smiled, "That'll be $2,200, but I can give you a deal at $2,000."

Eric, wallet in hand, looked puzzled. The shopkeeper continued, "I really liked what you said about the masks when you walked in, so I'm giving you a discount."

"Thanks a lot," Eric replied with a smile as he left the store carrying several bags.

He passed one bag to Julia and double-checked another before handing it to Elisabeth.

"I'm not carrying your stuff," Elisabeth quickly shoved her hands into her jeans pocket, raising her chin in a haughty manner.

"You liked that white set, right? This is for you. If you don't want it, I'll just give it to Julia instead."

"Hmph! If it's free, I'll take it," Elisabeth quickly snatched it away.

Eric had already started toward the water bus station carrying three remaining bags, with Elisabeth following closely behind. She leaned towards Julia and asked, "What did you get?"

Though Eric hadn't mentioned it, Julia already knew the set she held was a gift from him. She opened it and hugged it close, saying to Elisabeth, "It's the purple set we saw first."

Elisabeth wrinkled her nose. "Why are you holding it so tightly? I'm not going to snatch it away from you."

Julia sprinted a few steps to catch up with Eric, ignoring Elisabeth's teasing, which made Elisabeth quicken her pace to keep up.

"Eric, are you free to hang out again tomorrow?" Elisabeth asked as they settled on the boat.

Julia also turned her gaze toward Eric with anticipation.

Eric shook his head. "I have the opening ceremony tomorrow; I probably won't have time."

"When can you spare some time to talk to me about your movie?"

"I make tens of thousands a minute..." Eric feigned a troubled expression when suddenly, a playful pinch on his arm interrupted him.

After Elisabeth pinched him, both Eric and Julia were momentarily stunned as they simultaneously looked at Eric's arm. Wearing only a sleeveless black T-shirt, there were faint marks left by Elisabeth's pinch. Seeing the expressions on both of their faces, she huffed in annoyance, "What's the big deal? If I pinch him, it's his fault for thinking about money all the time. He's such a superficial guy." After saying that, she turned her head to the side, pretending to ignore Eric.

...

"Oh man, my legs are so sore," Elisabeth exclaimed as they returned to the Lido Island hotel. She dropped Eric's gift bag and flopped onto the sofa. She turned to Julia, who had just entered, and said, "Julia, can you rub my legs? I'll help you after; otherwise, my calves are going to hurt tomorrow."

"Sure," Julia agreed, sitting on the other end of the sofa. She lifted Elisabeth's legs onto her lap and began to massage them gently.

Elisabeth let out quiet sounds of comfort for a few moments before mumbling, "No way, I need to think of a way to get him to carve out some time for me. I'm not going to half-heartedly throw my paper together."

While massaging Elisabeth's calves, Julia contemplated before saying, "Liz, you've been arguing with Eric all day. Have you considered one possibility?"

"Hmm?" Elisabeth replied, not turning around, still sounding puzzled.

Julia laughed, "If you watch movies or TV shows often, you'd recognize a type of couple with 'love-hate-relationship.'"

Elisabeth, not grasping the depth of this connection, suddenly leaped up from the sofa, standing on it with her arms flailing dramatically, "No--way--this--can't--be! Impossible!"

*****

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