The hand was extended out halfway before Tao Ling suddenly realized the improperness in this action. As such, he patted Wen Qingying’s shoulder.
Wen Qingying raised his head again. The look on his face was serene, appearing as though he’d never argued with someone before. Wen Qingying looked at Tao Ling with much attention while trying to know what he meant.
Tao Ling cleared his throat, pointed at the other’s neck, and then the wound on it.
Wen Qingying’s expression did not change in the least little bit. Because his hands were smeared with dirt, he did not touch his neck, but instead used the back of his hand to touch softly the space between his eyebrows before smiling again.
Alright then.
Learning that the other party was already aware of the wound, Tao Ling decided to shut up about it. He lowered down his head and saw him planting the Chinese roses. Tao Ling asked as he watched, “How did they fall and break?”
Of course, he didn’t receive an answer.
Tao Ling continued, “Let’s see… I saw a young lady entering your shop. Is she your girlfriend? Did you guys get into a fight? Your neck got scratched by her, right? That young lady was quite strong then. How did the flower pots fall though? Was it you who broke them or your girlfriend? A young man like you shouldn’t be too violent.”
“How unfortunate,” he looked over the broken pottery pieces beside him, saying, “these two flower pots must have been very pretty. They were painted in the color of the sky—— ancient people used to call it celeste blue.”
“I’m so bored that I can even carry on a one-sided conversation with a deaf person,” Tao Ling said, sighing. “I need to go write a report later for my overtime work. There is still an unwritten paper I need to turn in for the religious studies conference, courseware I need to create for the second half of the semester, and then a class lecture I need to present soon.”
Despite saying these, he still did not budge after finishing his words.
The Chinese roses were planted back in the flower pots. At first glance, it didn’t seem like they got trampled. But you could see that the two flowers at the edge were different if examined carefully. One side of the flower seemed to have been rubbed against the floor. As such, a vague crease was made on it. Because the petals were too thin and white, the tissue of the crease looked transparent.
How miserable.
Moreover, it won’t take too long before the transparent mark turns dark.
Not only is it miserable, but also filthy.
The reason why Tao Ling could notice this bit of detail was that Wen Qingying touched that side of the flower with his fingers.
He looked up, and saw Wen Qingying with his eyes fixed upon the flower as though lost in thought. Tao Ling then couldn’t help feeling even more certain that the girl from a moment ago was his girlfriend. The two of them must have had a falling-out.
“I’m leaving now.” Tao Ling got up to his feet.
Wen Qingying raised his head and looked at him, puzzled. His eyes were beautiful-looking. Tao Ling halted his movement, and thought to himself, he’s as miserable as that flower.
He fished out his phone to type.
“Are you going to treat the wound on your neck?”
Wen Qingying read the words the other party wrote to him, thus stood up with the flowers in his arms. The height difference, however, made Tao Ling feel slightly intimidated on the spot.
Although Tao Ling wasn’t bulky, he was still 181cm tall, after all. And on top of the fact that he rarely smiled, usually it would be him who’d intimidate others. So how could it be possible for him to get intimidated by someone else? The situation right now suddenly irked him.
Screw the miserableness. Tao Ling couldn’t help retreating back a half-step.
He continued typing: “Do you need help? I will be going to the pharmacy in the back street to buy medicine. I can help you buy iodine and band-aids while I’m there.”
Wen Qingying drooped down his eyelids and looked over the bag in his hands.
The school clinic does not provide bags when prescribing medicine, and so Tao Ling conveniently took an old one from the office before leaving. The bag was indeed printed with the drugstore slogan.
Tao Ling’s expression remained unchanged. He continued writing: “I just remembered that there was a medicine I forgot to buy.”
When he passed over the phone again, Tao Ling suddenly noticed that Wen Qingying was wearing a navy blue apron.
Surprisingly, a tall man with a strong figure did not look bad in a waist apron. And even the apron became a little nice-looking.
Just as Tao Ling was secretly examining him from head to feet, Wen Qingying put down the flowers on the shelf. Then, he brushed off the dirt on his apron, and looked around to find his phone. However, he couldn’t remember where he placed it in this instant.
When going out, Tao Ling felt like a moron. Very badly.
The Tao Ling who felt like a moron flew to the pharmacy. There were too many people inside. By the time he finished buying the medicine and came out of the store, a quarter of an hour had already passed.
When he was about to reach the entrance, Tao Ling suddenly didn’t want to enter anymore.
After a second of hesitation, he stopped his steps.
A guy stood in front of the flower shop with one hand inside the pockets, and the other holding a rose. His body swayed from side to side. This kind of posture was very similar to that of throwing a tantrum.
“Gege,2 can you help me pick out another flower?”
[I don’t know if I still need to explain such a common address term like gege, but it’s basically equivalent to oppa lol. a person (either male or female) who uses this term to call a guy – when they barely know each other – is most likely trying to flirt with him.]
Tao Ling stood behind and saw that the guy was extending out his hand to touch Wen Qingying. The latter stepped back, caressing the flower leaf on his shoulder.
Fucking little gay.
Tao Ling walked up. Wen Qingying smiled upon seeing him.
That guy turned his head, saw the cold look on Tao Ling’s face, and frowned.
“Customer, may I ask what kind of flower you’re looking for?” Tao Ling adjusted his glasses, saying, “My little brother can’t hear.”
“He can’t hear?” the guy was taken aback. “No wonder.” He seemed a little unhappy, but he didn’t feel like opening his mouth again, and just raised his orchid fingers to pick up a rose from the flower bucket.
Wen Qingying pointed at the QR code payment scanner on the glass door before directly turning his head to Tao Ling.
Tao Ling made eye contact with him, and unexpectedly felt that the other party’s gaze revealed a trace of anxiousness.
After getting it figured out, he walked past the guy and entered the shop.
Two minutes later, the customer outside left.
Wen Qingying entered after him. He pulled out a chair beside the table, gestured Tao Ling to sit on it, and then went to the back of the shop to wash his hands.
“Boss, to speak frankly, the peach blossoms you have here are too many,” Tao Ling said. He sat down on the chair and could see Wen Qingying washing his hands through the half-opened door.
Wen Qingying numbly washed his hands. They were washed so thoroughly that even the slightest dirty mark didn’t remain visible. Only a peaceful back view was left for Tao Ling to look at.
The waist apron was still on him. And the ribbon was tied up very tightly around his waist, resulting in the overly revealing waistline.
However, the host wasn’t aware of it.
See no evil.
Tao Ling lowered down his head to play with his phone.
Soon after, Wen Qingying came out and picked up his phone to type: “Thank you, mister. I’ve troubled you.”
“You’re welcome,” Tao Ling said as he picked up the medicine, “do you need help with applying the iodine?”
Wen Qingying simply blinked his eyes. It was hard to tell whether he understood it or not.
Tao Ling directly pointed at the other’s collar and made a pulling motion.
Wen Qingying did not feel reluctance. He nodded, dragging closer the stool behind the table. He sat down with his side facing Tao Ling, unbuttoned the two buttons of his blouse, and showed him the side of his neck.
Tao Ling hissed and shook his head upon seeing clearly the bruises. He moistened the cotton swab with the antiseptic as he asked to no avail, “Isn’t your girlfriend too heartless? Does she feel sorry for you? A bite mark would have looked better than that of a scratch.”
“Tch, what am I even saying?”
Tao Ling has never learned how to write the word “gentle.” When he sensed that his movement was too harsh the moment the cotton swab brushed against the wound, he couldn’t help retracting it back.
Wen Qingying, however, didn’t appear to have felt the pain. His body was still as relaxed as ever and didn’t move at all.
The wound was rolled over all the way through. The side of his neck was stained with a large layer of peculiar color——deep brown, contrasting with Wen Qingying’s pale cool-toned skin.
Tao Ling threw away the cotton swab, and then fanned him with his hand so that the antiseptic could dry quicker. But because the motion was too big, his fingertips suddenly bumped against the hand Wen Qingying was pulling his blouse with.
“Ai-yo, my bad, my bad,” Tao Ling apologized in a haste.
The hand Wen Qingying grabbed the collar with tightened slightly. He smiled sideways at him.
When the other party turned his head away, Tao Ling pursed his lips all of a sudden, his Adam’s apple awkwardly bobbing up and down twice.
Upon finishing treating Wen Qingying’s wound, Tao Ling heaved a sigh of relief.
The sigh was for himself.
Tao Ling threw away the mess of band-aid papers, cleaned up the table, and borrowed Wen Qingying’s restroom to wash his hands. After coming out, he saw Wen Qingying tidying up a pile of dried flowers.
“I’m leaving now.” Tao Ling picked up his bags and medicine, and poked at Wen Qingying’s shoulder. He pointed at the shop entrance before waving goodbye to him.
But right when he turned around, his wrist was held.
The hand was extended out halfway before Tao Ling suddenly realized the improperness in this action. As such, he patted Wen Qingying’s shoulder.
Wen Qingying raised his head again. The look on his face was serene, appearing as though he’d never argued with someone before. Wen Qingying looked at Tao Ling with much attention while trying to know what he meant.
Tao Ling cleared his throat, pointed at the other’s neck, and then the wound on it.
Wen Qingying’s expression did not change in the least little bit. Because his hands were smeared with dirt, he did not touch his neck, but instead used the back of his hand to touch softly the space between his eyebrows before smiling again.
Alright then.
Learning that the other party was already aware of the wound, Tao Ling decided to shut up about it. He lowered down his head and saw him planting the Chinese roses. Tao Ling asked as he watched, “How did they fall and break?”
Of course, he didn’t receive an answer.
Tao Ling continued, “Let’s see… I saw a young lady entering your shop. Is she your girlfriend? Did you guys get into a fight? Your neck got scratched by her, right? That young lady was quite strong then. How did the flower pots fall though? Was it you who broke them or your girlfriend? A young man like you shouldn’t be too violent.”
“How unfortunate,” he looked over the broken pottery pieces beside him, saying, “these two flower pots must have been very pretty. They were painted in the color of the sky—— ancient people used to call it celeste blue.”
“I’m so bored that I can even carry on a one-sided conversation with a deaf person,” Tao Ling said, sighing. “I need to go write a report later for my overtime work. There is still an unwritten paper I need to turn in for the religious studies conference, courseware I need to create for the second half of the semester, and then a class lecture I need to present soon.”
Despite saying these, he still did not budge after finishing his words.
The Chinese roses were planted back in the flower pots. At first glance, it didn’t seem like they got trampled. But you could see that the two flowers at the edge were different if examined carefully. One side of the flower seemed to have been rubbed against the floor. As such, a vague crease was made on it. Because the petals were too thin and white, the tissue of the crease looked transparent.
How miserable.
Moreover, it won’t take too long before the transparent mark turns dark.
Not only is it miserable, but also filthy.
The reason why Tao Ling could notice this bit of detail was that Wen Qingying touched that side of the flower with his fingers.
He looked up, and saw Wen Qingying with his eyes fixed upon the flower as though lost in thought. Tao Ling then couldn’t help feeling even more certain that the girl from a moment ago was his girlfriend. The two of them must have had a falling-out.
“I’m leaving now.” Tao Ling got up to his feet.
Wen Qingying raised his head and looked at him, puzzled. His eyes were beautiful-looking. Tao Ling halted his movement, and thought to himself, he’s as miserable as that flower.
He fished out his phone to type.
“Are you going to treat the wound on your neck?”
Wen Qingying read the words the other party wrote to him, thus stood up with the flowers in his arms. The height difference, however, made Tao Ling feel slightly intimidated on the spot.
Although Tao Ling wasn’t bulky, he was still 181cm tall, after all. And on top of the fact that he rarely smiled, usually it would be him who’d intimidate others. So how could it be possible for him to get intimidated by someone else? The situation right now suddenly irked him.
Screw the miserableness. Tao Ling couldn’t help retreating back a half-step.
He continued typing: “Do you need help? I will be going to the pharmacy in the back street to buy medicine. I can help you buy iodine and band-aids while I’m there.”
Wen Qingying drooped down his eyelids and looked over the bag in his hands.
The school clinic does not provide bags when prescribing medicine, and so Tao Ling conveniently took an old one from the office before leaving. The bag was indeed printed with the drugstore slogan.
Tao Ling’s expression remained unchanged. He continued writing: “I just remembered that there was a medicine I forgot to buy.”
When he passed over the phone again, Tao Ling suddenly noticed that Wen Qingying was wearing a navy blue apron.
Surprisingly, a tall man with a strong figure did not look bad in a waist apron. And even the apron became a little nice-looking.
Just as Tao Ling was secretly examining him from head to feet, Wen Qingying put down the flowers on the shelf. Then, he brushed off the dirt on his apron, and looked around to find his phone. However, he couldn’t remember where he placed it in this instant.
When going out, Tao Ling felt like a moron. Very badly.
The Tao Ling who felt like a moron flew to the pharmacy. There were too many people inside. By the time he finished buying the medicine and came out of the store, a quarter of an hour had already passed.
When he was about to reach the entrance, Tao Ling suddenly didn’t want to enter anymore.
After a second of hesitation, he stopped his steps.
A guy stood in front of the flower shop with one hand inside the pockets, and the other holding a rose. His body swayed from side to side. This kind of posture was very similar to that of throwing a tantrum.
“Gege,2 can you help me pick out another flower?”
[I don’t know if I still need to explain such a common address term like gege, but it’s basically equivalent to oppa lol. a person (either male or female) who uses this term to call a guy – when they barely know each other – is most likely trying to flirt with him.]
Tao Ling stood behind and saw that the guy was extending out his hand to touch Wen Qingying. The latter stepped back, caressing the flower leaf on his shoulder.
Fucking little gay.
Tao Ling walked up. Wen Qingying smiled upon seeing him.
That guy turned his head, saw the cold look on Tao Ling’s face, and frowned.
“Customer, may I ask what kind of flower you’re looking for?” Tao Ling adjusted his glasses, saying, “My little brother can’t hear.”
“He can’t hear?” the guy was taken aback. “No wonder.” He seemed a little unhappy, but he didn’t feel like opening his mouth again, and just raised his orchid fingers to pick up a rose from the flower bucket.
Wen Qingying pointed at the QR code payment scanner on the glass door before directly turning his head to Tao Ling.
Tao Ling made eye contact with him, and unexpectedly felt that the other party’s gaze revealed a trace of anxiousness.
After getting it figured out, he walked past the guy and entered the shop.
Two minutes later, the customer outside left.
Wen Qingying entered after him. He pulled out a chair beside the table, gestured Tao Ling to sit on it, and then went to the back of the shop to wash his hands.
“Boss, to speak frankly, the peach blossoms you have here are too many,” Tao Ling said. He sat down on the chair and could see Wen Qingying washing his hands through the half-opened door.
Wen Qingying numbly washed his hands. They were washed so thoroughly that even the slightest dirty mark didn’t remain visible. Only a peaceful back view was left for Tao Ling to look at.
The waist apron was still on him. And the ribbon was tied up very tightly around his waist, resulting in the overly revealing waistline.
However, the host wasn’t aware of it.
See no evil.
Tao Ling lowered down his head to play with his phone.
Soon after, Wen Qingying came out and picked up his phone to type: “Thank you, mister. I’ve troubled you.”
“You’re welcome,” Tao Ling said as he picked up the medicine, “do you need help with applying the iodine?”
Wen Qingying simply blinked his eyes. It was hard to tell whether he understood it or not.
Tao Ling directly pointed at the other’s collar and made a pulling motion.
Wen Qingying did not feel reluctance. He nodded, dragging closer the stool behind the table. He sat down with his side facing Tao Ling, unbuttoned the two buttons of his blouse, and showed him the side of his neck.
Tao Ling hissed and shook his head upon seeing clearly the bruises. He moistened the cotton swab with the antiseptic as he asked to no avail, “Isn’t your girlfriend too heartless? Does she feel sorry for you? A bite mark would have looked better than that of a scratch.”
“Tch, what am I even saying?”
Tao Ling has never learned how to write the word “gentle.” When he sensed that his movement was too harsh the moment the cotton swab brushed against the wound, he couldn’t help retracting it back.
Wen Qingying, however, didn’t appear to have felt the pain. His body was still as relaxed as ever and didn’t move at all.
The wound was rolled over all the way through. The side of his neck was stained with a large layer of peculiar color——deep brown, contrasting with Wen Qingying’s pale cool-toned skin.
Tao Ling threw away the cotton swab, and then fanned him with his hand so that the antiseptic could dry quicker. But because the motion was too big, his fingertips suddenly bumped against the hand Wen Qingying was pulling his blouse with.
“Ai-yo, my bad, my bad,” Tao Ling apologized in a haste.
The hand Wen Qingying grabbed the collar with tightened slightly. He smiled sideways at him.
When the other party turned his head away, Tao Ling pursed his lips all of a sudden, his Adam’s apple awkwardly bobbing up and down twice.
Upon finishing treating Wen Qingying’s wound, Tao Ling heaved a sigh of relief.
The sigh was for himself.
Tao Ling threw away the mess of band-aid papers, cleaned up the table, and borrowed Wen Qingying’s restroom to wash his hands. After coming out, he saw Wen Qingying tidying up a pile of dried flowers.
“I’m leaving now.” Tao Ling picked up his bags and medicine, and poked at Wen Qingying’s shoulder. He pointed at the shop entrance before waving goodbye to him.
But right when he turned around, his wrist was held.
