Over the next couple of minutes, Tao Ling was coughing in pain.
The feeling of having water going down your trachea was beyond painful, as if your entire nasal cavity was on the verge of getting split open.
Seeing that he couldn’t stop coughing, Wen Qingying handed him a tissue as he got up beside him to pat his back. As soon as the other party came over, Tao Ling turned off his phone screen.
After much struggle, the coughing finally stopped. Tao Ling waved his hand, saying, “Don’t worry, I just got choked on water.”
Seeing him getting back to normal, Wen Qingying returned to his seat. The boss came over to deliver the noodles, thus allowing Tao Ling to droop his head and avoid the awkwardness from a moment ago.
He was completely bewildered, still musing over the sentence he saw in that title. Tao Ling wanted to pour scorn on it yet couldn’t find a reason to do so.
He ate the noodles as he raised his eyes.
Wen Qingying had his head lowered down. From this angle, he still looked as handsome as ever. His nose bridge was high, eyelashes long and thick, and he had a smooth forehead.
Funnily enough, he even pays exceptional attention to the food he was eating. The expression on his face seemed identical to that of when wrapping flowers, as if the bowl in front of him also needed to be tied with a bowknot.
Upon taking a brief look, Tao Ling felt that he himself was behaving a bit… weirdly, so he quietly averted his eyes.
After having lunch that was delayed too long, Wen Qingying went back to open the flower shop.
Tao Ling helped him move a few flower pots and let out a quiet sigh over the fact it’d be quite tiring to do such work twice a day.
Wen Qingying washed his hands and then typed to him: “Mister, you can stay here with me if you don’t want to be alone.”
Tao Ling indeed didn’t want to be alone today. But upon reading this sentence, he changed his mind and replied, “I’m going home.”
Wen Qingying pursed his lips slightly, seeming to regret writing the words from a moment ago. In the end, he still raised a smile.
The moment he turned around, Tao Ling regretted his decision. However, the words have already been said——no, the words have already been written out, and so it wouldn’t make sense to turn around again.
Besides, he and Wen Qingying were strangers in the first place. Going to the cemetery and eating a meal together does not necessarily mean that they were familiar with each other.
So why should he stay with him right now?
When he got home, Tao Ling naturally shouted, “I’m back.”
It was quiet and empty.
After the dry branch got thrown away, the flower vase was still placed on the bedroom balcony. Grasping onto the lisianthus flowers and blue hydrangea, Tao Ling changed his shoes to grab the flower vase.
He removed the extras leaves and inserted the flower branch into the water. Seeing the tiny bubbles absorbing through the roots, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Even if he were to take medicine he will still suffer from insomnia for several days in a row. Although, right now, a sudden wave of sleepiness was coming over him. Tao Ling therefore took a quick shower and got under the covers.
After lying down for a moment, he opened his phone. The page was still showing the post from before. He tapped on it, only to see that the comments section was filled with squealings and the entire post with the words “he’s so handsome.”
One of the repliers below agreed with them, saying that they will go buy flowers every day.
Tao Ling was speechless. He then let out a scoff1, tossed his phone away, and went to sleep.
[I don’t know how to explain it since I don’t think non-chinese people are familiar with this interjection, but 嘁 “qi/qie4!” is a sound you make when you feel that something is too ridiculous or doesn’t meet your expectations. Kinda similar to “ tsk” except for the sound.]
Surprisingly, it only took him a short while to fall asleep this time. When he woke up, he felt slightly dizzy. Tao Ling looked out in a daze and saw that the sky was completely black. Looks like it was nighttime already.
A strong gust of wind was blowing outside. The window was opened and slamming against the wall, making loud banging sounds.
Unable to think clearly, he closed his eyes for a moment. In the end, he got off the bed as he massaged his temples. Tao Ling originally wanted to pull down the curtains to close the window; however, he forgot about the flowers on the window sill.
When he extended his hand to pull it, the thick fabric of the curtain happened to knock against the flowers.
Before he could react in time – with a crash – loud shatters had already entered his ears, followed by a flying broken piece of glass cutting the back of his hand. Meanwhile, the water was already flowing towards his feet.
Soon afterwards, an unexpected burst of entrenched sorrow climbed up his back, and under such a confusing night, Tao Ling suddenly bent down.
The wind blew fiercely, while the forest in the city seemed to have turned into a boundless wasteland. The ground was only left with a lonely back view as well as the glass flower vase he’d broken just now.
On Monday, the religious studies meeting will be hosted in Sheng-Da. Tao Ling’s paper was arranged to be discussed in the afternoon. However, there’s an article he has to review in the morning which just happened to be from S-Da, the author being a doctoral student from Kuo Huai’s school.
After rising up early and getting things just about ready, Tao Ling headed downstairs to meet Kuo Huai and directly went to the meeting with him. Fortunately, the location was nearby at the large meeting room next to the religious studies hall.
It seems that starting from when he was an undergraduate, all of the academic meetings he had attended and gone through were like this. The formats lacked complete originality, and the processes were all the same.
Nevertheless, he finished commenting on the paper he was reading. But while he was taking a break, Kuo Huai pulled him firmly to talk with a professor from A-Da. However, the other party was currently busy chatting with an acquaintance. And after a moment, the conference was resuming back again. As such, Tao Ling raised a smile and briskly walked back to his seat.
Feeling disappointed, Kuo Huai tapped on his paper a few times, while Tao Ling just dealt with it with a smiling face.
The room has not yet fallen to complete silence. However, someone suddenly called out from behind, “Mr. Tao.”
Tao Ling turned his head and saw a short-haired girl, supposedly a student from this school that came to visit the meeting.
With a pair of bright, clear eyes, that girl stared at him in a manner that seemed a little familiar to him. But because he couldn’t remember where he’d seen it before, he only gave her a slight nod.
In the afternoon, he plainly went over his own paper and then waited for others to finish reviewing it. Tao Ling wasn’t nervous at all, and instead felt that he was just completing a task.
During the open discussion, he managed to slip out of the meeting room. And just as he was enjoying the fresh air at the balcony, someone emerged from the end of the corridor. Tao Ling was still minding his own business when that figure suddenly stopped beside him.
“Mr. Tao, I heard you reading your paper a moment ago and I found it very well-written. Can I ask you a question though?” This was the girl from the morning.
Tao Ling turned his head. “Sure.”
That student pondered for a moment before saying, “I have been reading Mr. Zhan Shichuang’s books for the past few days. He said that in China’s traditional culture, Daoism can always become the carrier of new philosophies. If so, what are teacher’s thoughts on this?”
Tao Ling was slightly astonished. “Are you a graduate from the religious studies hall? I haven’t seen you before.”
Upon receiving this question from him, the girl suddenly felt a little shy, thus she said in a small voice, “No, teacher. My name is Yun Nan, the Yun Nan province with the capital Kunming. I’m a fourth-year student, but I am indeed studying as a graduate in this school; literature and art.”
“Oh,” Tao Ling replied. He suddenly recalled that matter during the postgraduate exam and realized why she seemed familiar to him.
Yun Nan chuckled. “Students in this major wouldn’t ask such a foolish question, right?”
Tao Ling adjusted his glasses. “A question is a question. It’s perfectly fine to ask if you don’t know the answer to it. Because foolish or not, it really does not matter.”
Yun Nan nodded right away.
Tao Ling pondered and said, “You’re asking me what my thoughts are on this matter, but you’re talking about the “Daoist Divination and Arts,” right? He explained it in the book before. Daoism has receptive traits, and its mythology system is complex. Starting from its origin, it has always been taking part in the traditional beliefs of the Chinese, thus it was bound to have a very good propagation of foundation and conditions among society. In other words, the reason why people can be satisfied by Daoism is that they are always able to find their own suitable belief systems.”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “Of course, this is the more general way of explaining it. But in my opinion, this question can still be answered more thoroughly with the foreign studies of religious experience. When scholars explain the meaning of religion, they believe that all religions need to provide insights into life. In addition, if you want to explore its roots, religions do not exist because of Gods, nor do they exist because of immortals, but rather the life among humans.”
Yun Nan was listening mindfully. She blinked her eyes upon hearing the last few sentences. When Tao Ling tilted his head again, he saw that the other party was slightly lost in thought. However, this expression, for some reason, reminded him of Wen Qingying.
Ever since he returned home on Saturday, he has not seen Wen Qingying once.
“What’s next, teacher?” Seeing that he wasn’t saying anything for a very long time, Yun Nan asked him another hesitant question.
Over the next couple of minutes, Tao Ling was coughing in pain.
The feeling of having water going down your trachea was beyond painful, as if your entire nasal cavity was on the verge of getting split open.
Seeing that he couldn’t stop coughing, Wen Qingying handed him a tissue as he got up beside him to pat his back. As soon as the other party came over, Tao Ling turned off his phone screen.
After much struggle, the coughing finally stopped. Tao Ling waved his hand, saying, “Don’t worry, I just got choked on water.”
Seeing him getting back to normal, Wen Qingying returned to his seat. The boss came over to deliver the noodles, thus allowing Tao Ling to droop his head and avoid the awkwardness from a moment ago.
He was completely bewildered, still musing over the sentence he saw in that title. Tao Ling wanted to pour scorn on it yet couldn’t find a reason to do so.
He ate the noodles as he raised his eyes.
Wen Qingying had his head lowered down. From this angle, he still looked as handsome as ever. His nose bridge was high, eyelashes long and thick, and he had a smooth forehead.
Funnily enough, he even pays exceptional attention to the food he was eating. The expression on his face seemed identical to that of when wrapping flowers, as if the bowl in front of him also needed to be tied with a bowknot.
Upon taking a brief look, Tao Ling felt that he himself was behaving a bit… weirdly, so he quietly averted his eyes.
After having lunch that was delayed too long, Wen Qingying went back to open the flower shop.
Tao Ling helped him move a few flower pots and let out a quiet sigh over the fact it’d be quite tiring to do such work twice a day.
Wen Qingying washed his hands and then typed to him: “Mister, you can stay here with me if you don’t want to be alone.”
Tao Ling indeed didn’t want to be alone today. But upon reading this sentence, he changed his mind and replied, “I’m going home.”
Wen Qingying pursed his lips slightly, seeming to regret writing the words from a moment ago. In the end, he still raised a smile.
The moment he turned around, Tao Ling regretted his decision. However, the words have already been said——no, the words have already been written out, and so it wouldn’t make sense to turn around again.
Besides, he and Wen Qingying were strangers in the first place. Going to the cemetery and eating a meal together does not necessarily mean that they were familiar with each other.
So why should he stay with him right now?
When he got home, Tao Ling naturally shouted, “I’m back.”
It was quiet and empty.
After the dry branch got thrown away, the flower vase was still placed on the bedroom balcony. Grasping onto the lisianthus flowers and blue hydrangea, Tao Ling changed his shoes to grab the flower vase.
He removed the extras leaves and inserted the flower branch into the water. Seeing the tiny bubbles absorbing through the roots, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Even if he were to take medicine he will still suffer from insomnia for several days in a row. Although, right now, a sudden wave of sleepiness was coming over him. Tao Ling therefore took a quick shower and got under the covers.
After lying down for a moment, he opened his phone. The page was still showing the post from before. He tapped on it, only to see that the comments section was filled with squealings and the entire post with the words “he’s so handsome.”
One of the repliers below agreed with them, saying that they will go buy flowers every day.
Tao Ling was speechless. He then let out a scoff1, tossed his phone away, and went to sleep.
[I don’t know how to explain it since I don’t think non-chinese people are familiar with this interjection, but 嘁 “qi/qie4!” is a sound you make when you feel that something is too ridiculous or doesn’t meet your expectations. Kinda similar to “ tsk” except for the sound.]
Surprisingly, it only took him a short while to fall asleep this time. When he woke up, he felt slightly dizzy. Tao Ling looked out in a daze and saw that the sky was completely black. Looks like it was nighttime already.
A strong gust of wind was blowing outside. The window was opened and slamming against the wall, making loud banging sounds.
Unable to think clearly, he closed his eyes for a moment. In the end, he got off the bed as he massaged his temples. Tao Ling originally wanted to pull down the curtains to close the window; however, he forgot about the flowers on the window sill.
When he extended his hand to pull it, the thick fabric of the curtain happened to knock against the flowers.
Before he could react in time – with a crash – loud shatters had already entered his ears, followed by a flying broken piece of glass cutting the back of his hand. Meanwhile, the water was already flowing towards his feet.
Soon afterwards, an unexpected burst of entrenched sorrow climbed up his back, and under such a confusing night, Tao Ling suddenly bent down.
The wind blew fiercely, while the forest in the city seemed to have turned into a boundless wasteland. The ground was only left with a lonely back view as well as the glass flower vase he’d broken just now.
On Monday, the religious studies meeting will be hosted in Sheng-Da. Tao Ling’s paper was arranged to be discussed in the afternoon. However, there’s an article he has to review in the morning which just happened to be from S-Da, the author being a doctoral student from Kuo Huai’s school.
After rising up early and getting things just about ready, Tao Ling headed downstairs to meet Kuo Huai and directly went to the meeting with him. Fortunately, the location was nearby at the large meeting room next to the religious studies hall.
It seems that starting from when he was an undergraduate, all of the academic meetings he had attended and gone through were like this. The formats lacked complete originality, and the processes were all the same.
Nevertheless, he finished commenting on the paper he was reading. But while he was taking a break, Kuo Huai pulled him firmly to talk with a professor from A-Da. However, the other party was currently busy chatting with an acquaintance. And after a moment, the conference was resuming back again. As such, Tao Ling raised a smile and briskly walked back to his seat.
Feeling disappointed, Kuo Huai tapped on his paper a few times, while Tao Ling just dealt with it with a smiling face.
The room has not yet fallen to complete silence. However, someone suddenly called out from behind, “Mr. Tao.”
Tao Ling turned his head and saw a short-haired girl, supposedly a student from this school that came to visit the meeting.
With a pair of bright, clear eyes, that girl stared at him in a manner that seemed a little familiar to him. But because he couldn’t remember where he’d seen it before, he only gave her a slight nod.
In the afternoon, he plainly went over his own paper and then waited for others to finish reviewing it. Tao Ling wasn’t nervous at all, and instead felt that he was just completing a task.
During the open discussion, he managed to slip out of the meeting room. And just as he was enjoying the fresh air at the balcony, someone emerged from the end of the corridor. Tao Ling was still minding his own business when that figure suddenly stopped beside him.
“Mr. Tao, I heard you reading your paper a moment ago and I found it very well-written. Can I ask you a question though?” This was the girl from the morning.
Tao Ling turned his head. “Sure.”
That student pondered for a moment before saying, “I have been reading Mr. Zhan Shichuang’s books for the past few days. He said that in China’s traditional culture, Daoism can always become the carrier of new philosophies. If so, what are teacher’s thoughts on this?”
Tao Ling was slightly astonished. “Are you a graduate from the religious studies hall? I haven’t seen you before.”
Upon receiving this question from him, the girl suddenly felt a little shy, thus she said in a small voice, “No, teacher. My name is Yun Nan, the Yun Nan province with the capital Kunming. I’m a fourth-year student, but I am indeed studying as a graduate in this school; literature and art.”
“Oh,” Tao Ling replied. He suddenly recalled that matter during the postgraduate exam and realized why she seemed familiar to him.
Yun Nan chuckled. “Students in this major wouldn’t ask such a foolish question, right?”
Tao Ling adjusted his glasses. “A question is a question. It’s perfectly fine to ask if you don’t know the answer to it. Because foolish or not, it really does not matter.”
Yun Nan nodded right away.
Tao Ling pondered and said, “You’re asking me what my thoughts are on this matter, but you’re talking about the “Daoist Divination and Arts,” right? He explained it in the book before. Daoism has receptive traits, and its mythology system is complex. Starting from its origin, it has always been taking part in the traditional beliefs of the Chinese, thus it was bound to have a very good propagation of foundation and conditions among society. In other words, the reason why people can be satisfied by Daoism is that they are always able to find their own suitable belief systems.”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “Of course, this is the more general way of explaining it. But in my opinion, this question can still be answered more thoroughly with the foreign studies of religious experience. When scholars explain the meaning of religion, they believe that all religions need to provide insights into life. In addition, if you want to explore its roots, religions do not exist because of Gods, nor do they exist because of immortals, but rather the life among humans.”
Yun Nan was listening mindfully. She blinked her eyes upon hearing the last few sentences. When Tao Ling tilted his head again, he saw that the other party was slightly lost in thought. However, this expression, for some reason, reminded him of Wen Qingying.
Ever since he returned home on Saturday, he has not seen Wen Qingying once.
“What’s next, teacher?” Seeing that he wasn’t saying anything for a very long time, Yun Nan asked him another hesitant question.
