Halfway through the walk, Tao Ling slowed down his pace. He lowered his eyes to the ground, and asked himself why he had decided to turn back. In the end, he realized he ought to treat Wen Qingying to a meal after receiving so many flowers from him.
Just as he made up his mind to use this excuse, he arrived at the beef noodle shop from before. Tao Ling lifted his gaze, and immediately caught sight of Wen Qingying’s back view. He was walking towards the other side of the street.
Tao Ling was about to call him when he remembered that Wen Qingying cannot hear. As such, he raised his foot to go after him. Upon taking the first step, however, a short-haired girl suddenly rushed over from the sidewalk, sprang forward, and hugged Wen Qingying’s arm.
Looks like she was waiting for him at the crossing.
Wen Qingying reacted naturally and appeared as though he was already used to it. His other hand went round and patted the girl’s head. The girl flipped her hair, smiling.
The back views of the man and girl soon vanished into the street corner.
Meanwhile, the grip around the flower bouquet tightened. Tao Ling stood quiet for a moment, turned around, and went home.
It was sunny during the day. After the nightfall, however, the sky had become pitch-black. Even the moon and the stars were nowhere to be found.
The gomphrena was tossed onto the basin on the coffee table. After taking a shower, Tao Ling stood at the balcony of the study room and gazed idly at the glowing windows of the opposite building. He tried to imagine what other people’s families were like.
The weather is turning cold too quickly. That trench coat isn’t going to last very long, he nonchalantly thought, took out his phone, and opened the school forum.
The previous post that called Wen Qingying a scum had lost its heat.
The school is huge, and there are many people you can dig out fresh information from every day. No matter how big of a scum the flower shop boss is, such shocking news will only do nothing but stir waves in some sensitive heart.
It cannot impact anyone’s life.
Tao Ling scrolled down, page by page, and found the post on the third page. Without reading its content, he directly logged in to his account with his phone number and used that awfully childish ID to reply to the post. Brief and to the point, he wrote one word——
“Scumbag.”
And then logged out immediately.
However, in the next instant, he felt that there was something wrong with himself. Something was wrong with this word, and something was real wrong with this behavior. As such, he turned around to delete that reply, only to find that the option was missing.
Danmmit.
He tapped around his reply frustratedly a few times, and then blanked out, adding another remark: “That girl could be his little sister.”
The original poster seemed to be online this whole time. When she saw that someone was replying to her, she said: “The floor above, are you schizophrenic? One moment you say this, and then something completely different the next. Are you the boss’s paid writer and forgot to switch accounts?”
After a while, a slightly familiar ID said: “Hey you, the left-hand side one, we met again. Just as I said, the one who pays the most attention to the boss is you. Based on your own argument, you are being possessive over a stranger. You’ve got a problem.”
After a moment of silence, Tao Ling turned off his phone.
It is still Autumn, yet his life has already become a mess.
Tao Ling dully thought before he went to sleep. He laid down on the bed and raised his left hand to gaze at the ring on his middle finger, and then recalled that Tao Jun had once said that pursuing peace of mind is brave because we are reconciling with life, although to blindly pursue peace in life is sometimes an act of cowardice.
This is too biased, thought Tao Ling. Tao Jun is a very biased person.
The distance between humans and immortals is too wide. Living on land is exhausting unless there is a source of motivation. Perhaps, some sources of motivation come from desires, and when these desires are satisfied, they are bound to become dry and dull. Yet what comes upon not being able to satisfy a desire is pain.
Life is all about making decisions, be it apathy or pain, one must choose one.
Before meeting Wen Qingying, Tao Ling thought he had no desires, and therefore his life was apathetic. More or less, apathy equals peace. Tao Ling needs peace, so he does not mind being someone who has no desires.
Because just as Tao Jun said, he is a coward.
Amidst such a quiet night, Tao Ling tossed and turned while he delved into his own life. Bearing that embarrassment and furthermore shame, he brought his thoughts into open before realizing at last an unavoidable truth——
He has developed feelings for Wen Qingying.
Maybe this is cholera.
How unfortunate, he is a weak person, but he has gotten ill. Not to mention, it happened so quickly he had no time to react.
The next day in the afternoon, Tao Ling went to the square at the city center to meet Xia Chaoyang. When Xia Chaoyang saw him, he asked, “Did you get a bad night’s sleep?”
Tao Ling did not know how to reply. He simply lifted the corners of his mouth, half-hearted. Xia Chaoyang did not mind it either. Treating him like a kid, he raised a friendly smile.
This attitude bothered Tao Ling a little.
Xia Chaoyang asked for his suggestions and found a Japanese restaurant. They sat down opposite to each other. Xia Chaoyang handed him a bag.
“Thank you, Mr. Xia. I didn’t bring anything,” said Tao Ling.
Xia Chaoyang smiled nevertheless. “No worries, I just brought it in passing. I’m not sure if it’s to your liking.”
Tao Ling took it. “Thank you, let me treat Mr. Xia for a meal.”
The two people did not talk much, for the subject they truly wanted to speak about was unmentionable.
Likely because he could not read Tao Ling’s thoughts, to play it safe, Xia Chaoyang only brought up academic subjects to discuss with him. Tao Ling however showed no interest in this field. For every question he was asked, he would answer it plainly.
It was polite yet distant.
In the end, Xia Chaoyang asked, “Has Tao-shidi considered working in other colleges? S-Da is about the same as your school. The Department of Religious Studies and the Department of Chinese Literature are looking for talented people. It is not administrative work, and I’m sure you will like it if you join us. You have your individual paper. After publishing your Ph.D. thesis into a book, your academic achievements will reach mastery.”
Tao Ling wanted to reject this offer, but after reconsidering the events that’d happened during this time, he held back a bit before answering, “I haven’t thought about it.”
Xia Chaoyang asked him with frankness, “You want to stay in Wuzhou?”
Tao Ling nodded. He drooped down his eyes, which happened to land upon the other party’s hand. He noticed that the wedding ring he’d seen before had disappeared.
In the end, he said, “Tao Jun is here.”
Contrary to what he had expected, Xia Chaoyang did not become disconcerted upon hearing this name. Instead, he said with a faint smile, “Right, you are both very good brothers. I remember him saying that he is willing to do anything for you.”
After sitting silently for a long time, Tao Ling responded, “Oh.”
Their meal was flavorless and bland. When they got out of the shop, Xia Chaoyang told him he had some matters he needed to attend to. As such, the two of them simply bid goodbye at the public square.
Tao Ling went to the bookstore. Originally, he’d planned on going home after taking a short walk, but because he ended up carrying too much stuff in his hands, he was forced to take the bus.
Home is only three stops away. Tao Ling will have to go through the west gate of the school. He got on the bus and stood facing the right window.
At the last stop, he could already see the flower shop from the distance. Tao Ling tightened his grip around the handle of the plastic bag as Wen Qingying’s back view drew nearer and nearer.
Just like that instance when they first met each other, he was currently standing in front of the flower stands, rearranging the position of the flower bouquets.
All the way till that back view was about to disappear out of his sight, Tao Ling could not relieve the tightness in his chest. At the very end, however, Wen Qingying suddenly felt something and glanced towards the bus.
There and then their eyes collided, and like a flash, he vanished completely out of his sight.
Tao Ling felt his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. He was certain that Wen Qingying had seen him.
When he got off the bus, Tao Ling could not stop thinking about that eye contact from a moment ago. After mulling for a long time, he began to have second thoughts.
Perhaps he was overthinking it. Wen Qingying finished his work, got up, and turned his head. End of story. Their angles were different. Wen Qingying may not have necessarily seen him.
It is mere speculation.
In order to get Wen Qingying out of his mind, Tao Ling opened the bag that Xia Chaoyang gave him.
It was a large box with simple packaging, which looked somewhat like a mooncake box.
Frowning, Tao Ling opened it. But as soon as he saw the item inside, his eyes widened.
Halfway through the walk, Tao Ling slowed down his pace. He lowered his eyes to the ground, and asked himself why he had decided to turn back. In the end, he realized he ought to treat Wen Qingying to a meal after receiving so many flowers from him.
Just as he made up his mind to use this excuse, he arrived at the beef noodle shop from before. Tao Ling lifted his gaze, and immediately caught sight of Wen Qingying’s back view. He was walking towards the other side of the street.
Tao Ling was about to call him when he remembered that Wen Qingying cannot hear. As such, he raised his foot to go after him. Upon taking the first step, however, a short-haired girl suddenly rushed over from the sidewalk, sprang forward, and hugged Wen Qingying’s arm.
Looks like she was waiting for him at the crossing.
Wen Qingying reacted naturally and appeared as though he was already used to it. His other hand went round and patted the girl’s head. The girl flipped her hair, smiling.
The back views of the man and girl soon vanished into the street corner.
Meanwhile, the grip around the flower bouquet tightened. Tao Ling stood quiet for a moment, turned around, and went home.
It was sunny during the day. After the nightfall, however, the sky had become pitch-black. Even the moon and the stars were nowhere to be found.
The gomphrena was tossed onto the basin on the coffee table. After taking a shower, Tao Ling stood at the balcony of the study room and gazed idly at the glowing windows of the opposite building. He tried to imagine what other people’s families were like.
The weather is turning cold too quickly. That trench coat isn’t going to last very long, he nonchalantly thought, took out his phone, and opened the school forum.
The previous post that called Wen Qingying a scum had lost its heat.
The school is huge, and there are many people you can dig out fresh information from every day. No matter how big of a scum the flower shop boss is, such shocking news will only do nothing but stir waves in some sensitive heart.
It cannot impact anyone’s life.
Tao Ling scrolled down, page by page, and found the post on the third page. Without reading its content, he directly logged in to his account with his phone number and used that awfully childish ID to reply to the post. Brief and to the point, he wrote one word——
“Scumbag.”
And then logged out immediately.
However, in the next instant, he felt that there was something wrong with himself. Something was wrong with this word, and something was real wrong with this behavior. As such, he turned around to delete that reply, only to find that the option was missing.
Danmmit.
He tapped around his reply frustratedly a few times, and then blanked out, adding another remark: “That girl could be his little sister.”
The original poster seemed to be online this whole time. When she saw that someone was replying to her, she said: “The floor above, are you schizophrenic? One moment you say this, and then something completely different the next. Are you the boss’s paid writer and forgot to switch accounts?”
After a while, a slightly familiar ID said: “Hey you, the left-hand side one, we met again. Just as I said, the one who pays the most attention to the boss is you. Based on your own argument, you are being possessive over a stranger. You’ve got a problem.”
After a moment of silence, Tao Ling turned off his phone.
It is still Autumn, yet his life has already become a mess.
Tao Ling dully thought before he went to sleep. He laid down on the bed and raised his left hand to gaze at the ring on his middle finger, and then recalled that Tao Jun had once said that pursuing peace of mind is brave because we are reconciling with life, although to blindly pursue peace in life is sometimes an act of cowardice.
This is too biased, thought Tao Ling. Tao Jun is a very biased person.
The distance between humans and immortals is too wide. Living on land is exhausting unless there is a source of motivation. Perhaps, some sources of motivation come from desires, and when these desires are satisfied, they are bound to become dry and dull. Yet what comes upon not being able to satisfy a desire is pain.
Life is all about making decisions, be it apathy or pain, one must choose one.
Before meeting Wen Qingying, Tao Ling thought he had no desires, and therefore his life was apathetic. More or less, apathy equals peace. Tao Ling needs peace, so he does not mind being someone who has no desires.
Because just as Tao Jun said, he is a coward.
Amidst such a quiet night, Tao Ling tossed and turned while he delved into his own life. Bearing that embarrassment and furthermore shame, he brought his thoughts into open before realizing at last an unavoidable truth——
He has developed feelings for Wen Qingying.
Maybe this is cholera.
How unfortunate, he is a weak person, but he has gotten ill. Not to mention, it happened so quickly he had no time to react.
The next day in the afternoon, Tao Ling went to the square at the city center to meet Xia Chaoyang. When Xia Chaoyang saw him, he asked, “Did you get a bad night’s sleep?”
Tao Ling did not know how to reply. He simply lifted the corners of his mouth, half-hearted. Xia Chaoyang did not mind it either. Treating him like a kid, he raised a friendly smile.
This attitude bothered Tao Ling a little.
Xia Chaoyang asked for his suggestions and found a Japanese restaurant. They sat down opposite to each other. Xia Chaoyang handed him a bag.
“Thank you, Mr. Xia. I didn’t bring anything,” said Tao Ling.
Xia Chaoyang smiled nevertheless. “No worries, I just brought it in passing. I’m not sure if it’s to your liking.”
Tao Ling took it. “Thank you, let me treat Mr. Xia for a meal.”
The two people did not talk much, for the subject they truly wanted to speak about was unmentionable.
Likely because he could not read Tao Ling’s thoughts, to play it safe, Xia Chaoyang only brought up academic subjects to discuss with him. Tao Ling however showed no interest in this field. For every question he was asked, he would answer it plainly.
It was polite yet distant.
In the end, Xia Chaoyang asked, “Has Tao-shidi considered working in other colleges? S-Da is about the same as your school. The Department of Religious Studies and the Department of Chinese Literature are looking for talented people. It is not administrative work, and I’m sure you will like it if you join us. You have your individual paper. After publishing your Ph.D. thesis into a book, your academic achievements will reach mastery.”
Tao Ling wanted to reject this offer, but after reconsidering the events that’d happened during this time, he held back a bit before answering, “I haven’t thought about it.”
Xia Chaoyang asked him with frankness, “You want to stay in Wuzhou?”
Tao Ling nodded. He drooped down his eyes, which happened to land upon the other party’s hand. He noticed that the wedding ring he’d seen before had disappeared.
In the end, he said, “Tao Jun is here.”
Contrary to what he had expected, Xia Chaoyang did not become disconcerted upon hearing this name. Instead, he said with a faint smile, “Right, you are both very good brothers. I remember him saying that he is willing to do anything for you.”
After sitting silently for a long time, Tao Ling responded, “Oh.”
Their meal was flavorless and bland. When they got out of the shop, Xia Chaoyang told him he had some matters he needed to attend to. As such, the two of them simply bid goodbye at the public square.
Tao Ling went to the bookstore. Originally, he’d planned on going home after taking a short walk, but because he ended up carrying too much stuff in his hands, he was forced to take the bus.
Home is only three stops away. Tao Ling will have to go through the west gate of the school. He got on the bus and stood facing the right window.
At the last stop, he could already see the flower shop from the distance. Tao Ling tightened his grip around the handle of the plastic bag as Wen Qingying’s back view drew nearer and nearer.
Just like that instance when they first met each other, he was currently standing in front of the flower stands, rearranging the position of the flower bouquets.
All the way till that back view was about to disappear out of his sight, Tao Ling could not relieve the tightness in his chest. At the very end, however, Wen Qingying suddenly felt something and glanced towards the bus.
There and then their eyes collided, and like a flash, he vanished completely out of his sight.
Tao Ling felt his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. He was certain that Wen Qingying had seen him.
When he got off the bus, Tao Ling could not stop thinking about that eye contact from a moment ago. After mulling for a long time, he began to have second thoughts.
Perhaps he was overthinking it. Wen Qingying finished his work, got up, and turned his head. End of story. Their angles were different. Wen Qingying may not have necessarily seen him.
It is mere speculation.
In order to get Wen Qingying out of his mind, Tao Ling opened the bag that Xia Chaoyang gave him.
It was a large box with simple packaging, which looked somewhat like a mooncake box.
Frowning, Tao Ling opened it. But as soon as he saw the item inside, his eyes widened.
