Feeling a little surprised, Tao Ling turned his head to look at him.
However, Wen Qingying didn’t return his gaze this time, only dropping his eyes to the gravestone with a calm face; though it could be seen that the muscle lines in his jaw had tightened as his entire figure stiffened coldly, bringing a sudden dauntless to people.
Tao Ling smiled and thought, surprisingly, making such an abrupt move helped him look more like a real person. Without saying anything, he placed down the flowers in his hands in front of the monument just like how Wen Qingying did before.
“Hello, auntie. I’m your son’s… customer. We happened to meet each other today so I came here with him to see you,” said Tao Ling.
Wen Qingying was still unmoving. However, his eyes quickly softened.
Because the other party couldn’t speak, Tao Ling had no idea what to say after saying these words. Thus, he could only fall silent. The two of them stood for a long while in front of the grave, each keeping their own thoughts to themselves.
The Autumn air had long become chilly. When the sunlight shined down upon his crown to his entire body, the heat became lukewarm that’d only make the sky higher and the people smaller. Neither cold nor warm, the wind blowing past simply gave off a faint air of melancholy.
Tao Ling suddenly felt that being buried in Autumn actually suited Tao Jun the best.
After a good long while, Wen Qingying finally started moving. He fished out his phone to type a question: “Mister, should we go now?”
Tao Ling nodded, bowing to the woman on the gravestone. When he stood up, he saw Wen Qingying tilting his head and looking at the flower bouquet that got tossed onto the ground. Tao Ling patted his shoulder and picked up the flowers.
On their way out, they passed by a newly placed gravestone. Around it, were a group of five to six people. Someone was lighting up the candles, the other burning money paper. A little girl around the age of ten bawled in an attempt to throw herself against the gravestone. However, she was held by two adults who tried coaxing her. Struggling very much, the little girl went all out to free herself. When the person behind loosened his grip by accident, she staggered to her feet before knocking against the side of the gravestone.
Amidst the screaming, Wen Qingying took a big step forwards. But before he could make the next move, that little girl was already being carried by her father. As such, he retracted his foot in silence.
A layer of redness immediately appeared on the little girl’s forehead, and a bump could be seen with the naked eye. Regardless of whether it was emotional or physical pain, she was bawling so hard that she could not speak at all. Unable to bear it any longer, everyone around her began sobbing, melding with the bawling into one.
Because their path got blocked, Tao Ling and Wen Qingying were forced to witness this whole scene. The eyes of the middle-aged man hugging the little girl were brimmed with tears. He pulled the child and made way before quickly apologizing to them, “I’m so sorry, please go ahead.”
Tao Ling averted his gaze before crashing his way through the depressing atmosphere.
After walking several steps away, he suddenly heard a very painful cry from behind, “Mom!”
Just as Tao Ling’s steps froze, Wen Qingying arrived behind him, bumping his chest lightly against his shoulder.
Soon, Tao Ling quickened his steps. The two of them hurried to walk through the alley between the gravestones, using the fastest speed to reach the main road outside.
Upon getting out of the cemetery, they placed down the flowers beside a garbage can. Wen Qingying asked Tao Ling about his next destination. Seeing those abandoned flowers, Tao Ling vaguely shook his head.
“I’m heading to the flower market. Would mister like to take a look there?” Wen Qingying typed.
Next Monday is the day when the religion studies conference will be held. Fortunately, Sheng-Da will host it this year, so he won’t have to make any extra trips later. The manuscript has long been submitted, and he just happened to receive the invitation yesterday.
Indeed, he was free for the rest of the day. Tao Ling then nodded as he spoke, “Let’s go.”
The hoarseness in his voice made it impossible to hear.
The flower market was as lively as ever.
Wandering through the old town behind Shengnuxiang, the flower farmers are gathered on both sides of the avenue. Most of the buildings nearby the side street are stores with a base behind them. There are also many selected large sheds that can be visited directly. Following the path ahead, courtyards would be seen from time to time. After placing a wooden board on the ground, a small shop would be set up next to another, and the large bundles of fresh cut flowers being the only thing that’d enter your sight.
Without much effort, Wen Qingying led Tao Ling through several places before finally setting foot on a very huge market. They entered a shop that specified flowerpots, soil, and so on.
The boss was clearly familiar with Wen Qingying. The latter handed him a list he’d long prepared. Upon finishing paying a part of the downpayment, tomorrow, the boss will get the goods delivered to the market.
The whole process went by so fast that it didn’t give Tao Ling a chance to catch up with it. On their way out of the marketplace, he couldn’t help asking, “That’s it?”
Wen Qingying walked beside him and fished out his phone. “Mister, there’s a grass field next to the town. Since the weather is good today, perhaps people are flying their kites. Shall we go there?”
Tao Ling turned his head, and seeing that the other didn’t hide the anticipation shown on his face, he agreed.
Passing through the whole flower market, they reached a park at the very back with a large grass field in the middle.
Under the clear cloudless sky, there were many tourists, as well as blankets spread out on the grass. People gathered together to play cards, which had filled the whole atmosphere with laughter and noise. In the distance, a few kites were swaying in the sky, and the quivering caused by the wind could be seen clearly.
As they were walking towards the grass field, a little girl ran up to them out of nowhere. She was carrying a wicker basket on her arm, tugging lightly at Wen Qingying’s sleeve.
Wen Qingying dropped his head, and the girl pointed to her flower basket.
“Meimei, we’re not buying flowers,” said Tao Ling.
[妹妹 means younger sister, but in this case it’s just another way of saying “little girl”.]
The girl looked at him, her head tilted. Then, she pointed at her throat and waved her hand.
Tao Ling was taken aback. Wen Qingying glanced at him sideways and then made a few gestures to the girl.
A smile suddenly blossomed on the girl’s face. Two people next to him – one big and one small – were using their hands to communicate with each other. After a moment, the little girl pointed at Tao Ling. She watched them with her head tilted, unmoving.
Wen Qingying smiled and grabbed a bundle of lisianthus flowers from her basket. Just as he finished paying, the girl suddenly took out a hydrangea flower and ran off right after placing it against his chest.
Upon seeing this, Tao Ling whispered, “What’s up with all of you… children? You all like to buy one and get one free?” He spoke while he signaled Wen Qingying to go. However, the latter handed him the flowers.
“For me?” Tao Ling leaned back slightly, pointing at himself in surprise.
Wen Qingying nodded. Grabbing his wrist, he stuffed them inside his hand before taking out his phone to type: “My shop has a lot of flowers, so it is of no use to me.”
Tao Ling couldn’t help smiling, and said, “You can resell it.”
Wen Qingying then typed another sentence: “I bought it only because meimei asked me to buy it for mister.”
His face was earnest. Tao Ling, however, knew that he’d still buy it regardless, and therefore he didn’t take these words to heart.
Stepping on the grass field, Tao Ling finally took out his phone, asking: “Since I got so many flowers from you, how about I invite you for a meal later?”
Overjoyed, Wen Qingying replied: “Thank you, mister. I would like to eat the beef noodles next door next to the flower shop.”
Tao Ling couldn’t help but laugh. He put away his phone and asked, “Could you not be so straightforward?”
They took a few strolls around. Feeling that it was already about time to leave, the two of them returned to the city. When Tao Ling asked Wen Qingying what he wanted to eat, the latter simply entered the noodle shop.
Tao Ling followed behind him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. In the end, they did order two bowls of beef noodle soup.
While waiting for the noodles to arrive, Tao Ling received another message from the colleague outside of his school: “Do you still remember that post I mentioned before? It’s getting so much attention right now! For the sake of your well-being, shall I ask someone to take it down?”
Tao Ling was helpless. “How can they be this bored?’
After sending out the message, he opened the website and entered the school forum, and saw that there were already a thousand comments under the post that talked about himself. The topic above has already crooked a million miles away; furthermore, some began to set him up on blind dates.
Students who had good intentions waved aside his teaching experience, and without taking extra trouble, they made a pile of female teachers whom he may possibly know from the college, matching him up with every single one of them. They even rated the matching level of each pairing.
Tao Ling skimmed through a few pages and then caught sight of a commenter: “Haven’t yall noticed that there’s a ring worn on his left middle finger? Don’t be so blind to make a matchmaking list.”
As though a tossed stone had raised a thousand ripples, tons of comments stacked up under the topic discussing Tao Ling’s fiance. The ID above said: “That’s right, Tao Ling’s fiance is me.”
The replies below were filled with mockery.
Tao Ling’s face darkened. He drank a mouthful of water and then raised his head to see that Wen Qingying was on his phone. Thus he logged out and randomly scrolled through the forum. However, a post suddenly drew his eyes, titled: “Fuk, I want to sleep with the boss gege of the flower shop in front of the west gate!”
Tao Ling choked on his water as soon as he read the title.
Feeling a little surprised, Tao Ling turned his head to look at him.
However, Wen Qingying didn’t return his gaze this time, only dropping his eyes to the gravestone with a calm face; though it could be seen that the muscle lines in his jaw had tightened as his entire figure stiffened coldly, bringing a sudden dauntless to people.
Tao Ling smiled and thought, surprisingly, making such an abrupt move helped him look more like a real person. Without saying anything, he placed down the flowers in his hands in front of the monument just like how Wen Qingying did before.
“Hello, auntie. I’m your son’s… customer. We happened to meet each other today so I came here with him to see you,” said Tao Ling.
Wen Qingying was still unmoving. However, his eyes quickly softened.
Because the other party couldn’t speak, Tao Ling had no idea what to say after saying these words. Thus, he could only fall silent. The two of them stood for a long while in front of the grave, each keeping their own thoughts to themselves.
The Autumn air had long become chilly. When the sunlight shined down upon his crown to his entire body, the heat became lukewarm that’d only make the sky higher and the people smaller. Neither cold nor warm, the wind blowing past simply gave off a faint air of melancholy.
Tao Ling suddenly felt that being buried in Autumn actually suited Tao Jun the best.
After a good long while, Wen Qingying finally started moving. He fished out his phone to type a question: “Mister, should we go now?”
Tao Ling nodded, bowing to the woman on the gravestone. When he stood up, he saw Wen Qingying tilting his head and looking at the flower bouquet that got tossed onto the ground. Tao Ling patted his shoulder and picked up the flowers.
On their way out, they passed by a newly placed gravestone. Around it, were a group of five to six people. Someone was lighting up the candles, the other burning money paper. A little girl around the age of ten bawled in an attempt to throw herself against the gravestone. However, she was held by two adults who tried coaxing her. Struggling very much, the little girl went all out to free herself. When the person behind loosened his grip by accident, she staggered to her feet before knocking against the side of the gravestone.
Amidst the screaming, Wen Qingying took a big step forwards. But before he could make the next move, that little girl was already being carried by her father. As such, he retracted his foot in silence.
A layer of redness immediately appeared on the little girl’s forehead, and a bump could be seen with the naked eye. Regardless of whether it was emotional or physical pain, she was bawling so hard that she could not speak at all. Unable to bear it any longer, everyone around her began sobbing, melding with the bawling into one.
Because their path got blocked, Tao Ling and Wen Qingying were forced to witness this whole scene. The eyes of the middle-aged man hugging the little girl were brimmed with tears. He pulled the child and made way before quickly apologizing to them, “I’m so sorry, please go ahead.”
Tao Ling averted his gaze before crashing his way through the depressing atmosphere.
After walking several steps away, he suddenly heard a very painful cry from behind, “Mom!”
Just as Tao Ling’s steps froze, Wen Qingying arrived behind him, bumping his chest lightly against his shoulder.
Soon, Tao Ling quickened his steps. The two of them hurried to walk through the alley between the gravestones, using the fastest speed to reach the main road outside.
Upon getting out of the cemetery, they placed down the flowers beside a garbage can. Wen Qingying asked Tao Ling about his next destination. Seeing those abandoned flowers, Tao Ling vaguely shook his head.
“I’m heading to the flower market. Would mister like to take a look there?” Wen Qingying typed.
Next Monday is the day when the religion studies conference will be held. Fortunately, Sheng-Da will host it this year, so he won’t have to make any extra trips later. The manuscript has long been submitted, and he just happened to receive the invitation yesterday.
Indeed, he was free for the rest of the day. Tao Ling then nodded as he spoke, “Let’s go.”
The hoarseness in his voice made it impossible to hear.
The flower market was as lively as ever.
Wandering through the old town behind Shengnuxiang, the flower farmers are gathered on both sides of the avenue. Most of the buildings nearby the side street are stores with a base behind them. There are also many selected large sheds that can be visited directly. Following the path ahead, courtyards would be seen from time to time. After placing a wooden board on the ground, a small shop would be set up next to another, and the large bundles of fresh cut flowers being the only thing that’d enter your sight.
Without much effort, Wen Qingying led Tao Ling through several places before finally setting foot on a very huge market. They entered a shop that specified flowerpots, soil, and so on.
The boss was clearly familiar with Wen Qingying. The latter handed him a list he’d long prepared. Upon finishing paying a part of the downpayment, tomorrow, the boss will get the goods delivered to the market.
The whole process went by so fast that it didn’t give Tao Ling a chance to catch up with it. On their way out of the marketplace, he couldn’t help asking, “That’s it?”
Wen Qingying walked beside him and fished out his phone. “Mister, there’s a grass field next to the town. Since the weather is good today, perhaps people are flying their kites. Shall we go there?”
Tao Ling turned his head, and seeing that the other didn’t hide the anticipation shown on his face, he agreed.
Passing through the whole flower market, they reached a park at the very back with a large grass field in the middle.
Under the clear cloudless sky, there were many tourists, as well as blankets spread out on the grass. People gathered together to play cards, which had filled the whole atmosphere with laughter and noise. In the distance, a few kites were swaying in the sky, and the quivering caused by the wind could be seen clearly.
As they were walking towards the grass field, a little girl ran up to them out of nowhere. She was carrying a wicker basket on her arm, tugging lightly at Wen Qingying’s sleeve.
Wen Qingying dropped his head, and the girl pointed to her flower basket.
“Meimei, we’re not buying flowers,” said Tao Ling.
[妹妹 means younger sister, but in this case it’s just another way of saying “little girl”.]
The girl looked at him, her head tilted. Then, she pointed at her throat and waved her hand.
Tao Ling was taken aback. Wen Qingying glanced at him sideways and then made a few gestures to the girl.
A smile suddenly blossomed on the girl’s face. Two people next to him – one big and one small – were using their hands to communicate with each other. After a moment, the little girl pointed at Tao Ling. She watched them with her head tilted, unmoving.
Wen Qingying smiled and grabbed a bundle of lisianthus flowers from her basket. Just as he finished paying, the girl suddenly took out a hydrangea flower and ran off right after placing it against his chest.
Upon seeing this, Tao Ling whispered, “What’s up with all of you… children? You all like to buy one and get one free?” He spoke while he signaled Wen Qingying to go. However, the latter handed him the flowers.
“For me?” Tao Ling leaned back slightly, pointing at himself in surprise.
Wen Qingying nodded. Grabbing his wrist, he stuffed them inside his hand before taking out his phone to type: “My shop has a lot of flowers, so it is of no use to me.”
Tao Ling couldn’t help smiling, and said, “You can resell it.”
Wen Qingying then typed another sentence: “I bought it only because meimei asked me to buy it for mister.”
His face was earnest. Tao Ling, however, knew that he’d still buy it regardless, and therefore he didn’t take these words to heart.
Stepping on the grass field, Tao Ling finally took out his phone, asking: “Since I got so many flowers from you, how about I invite you for a meal later?”
Overjoyed, Wen Qingying replied: “Thank you, mister. I would like to eat the beef noodles next door next to the flower shop.”
Tao Ling couldn’t help but laugh. He put away his phone and asked, “Could you not be so straightforward?”
They took a few strolls around. Feeling that it was already about time to leave, the two of them returned to the city. When Tao Ling asked Wen Qingying what he wanted to eat, the latter simply entered the noodle shop.
Tao Ling followed behind him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. In the end, they did order two bowls of beef noodle soup.
While waiting for the noodles to arrive, Tao Ling received another message from the colleague outside of his school: “Do you still remember that post I mentioned before? It’s getting so much attention right now! For the sake of your well-being, shall I ask someone to take it down?”
Tao Ling was helpless. “How can they be this bored?’
After sending out the message, he opened the website and entered the school forum, and saw that there were already a thousand comments under the post that talked about himself. The topic above has already crooked a million miles away; furthermore, some began to set him up on blind dates.
Students who had good intentions waved aside his teaching experience, and without taking extra trouble, they made a pile of female teachers whom he may possibly know from the college, matching him up with every single one of them. They even rated the matching level of each pairing.
Tao Ling skimmed through a few pages and then caught sight of a commenter: “Haven’t yall noticed that there’s a ring worn on his left middle finger? Don’t be so blind to make a matchmaking list.”
As though a tossed stone had raised a thousand ripples, tons of comments stacked up under the topic discussing Tao Ling’s fiance. The ID above said: “That’s right, Tao Ling’s fiance is me.”
The replies below were filled with mockery.
Tao Ling’s face darkened. He drank a mouthful of water and then raised his head to see that Wen Qingying was on his phone. Thus he logged out and randomly scrolled through the forum. However, a post suddenly drew his eyes, titled: “Fuk, I want to sleep with the boss gege of the flower shop in front of the west gate!”
Tao Ling choked on his water as soon as he read the title.
