Tao Ling felt like his head was going to explode.
After leaving the flower shop in the afternoon and returning home, he immediately cleaned up the mess on the floor, packed it up with yesterday’s trash, and threw it all into the trash bin downstairs to prevent his emotions from getting more agitated.
After that, his head continued hurting, without giving him a moment of respite.
However, the headache turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It prevented him from behaving like a teenager, unable to keep his composure, agonizing over a single word or gesture, and repeatedly imagining the beloved person to the point of sleepless nights.
It also spared him from recalling Tao Jun, from speculating about what Xia Chaoyang did all those years ago, and from revisiting the irreparable sadness.
Thank God, all his strangeness today was because he was sick.
Night fell quickly. After hastily washing up and taking some paracetamol1basically Tylenol, Tao Ling immediately went to bed, wrapping himself tightly in his blankets. He lay in the darkness with his eyes open, hoping to feel better the next day.
Then he drifted in and out of sleep all night, his thoughts filled with Tao Jun and Wen Qingying.
In the morning, feeling unusually cold, Tao Ling grabbed a sweater from his wardrobe. He glanced down at the off-white color, and his thoughts wandered far away. He mused that Wen Qingying seemed to prefer wearing dark colors and would probably look even better in this shade. Pausing for a couple of seconds, he felt as though he had been burned.
Quickly, he shoved the sweater back and opted for a gray one instead.
His headache had subsided somewhat, but Tao Ling still relied on coffee to stay alert at work.
In the afternoon, there was an academic lecture in the administrative building. A colleague had previously mentioned it to him, but Tao Ling, not particularly interested since the topic wasn’t within his field, had brushed it off. During lunch, he took a stroll around the building and noticed a poster at the entrance of the history department’s floor.
Initially, he walked past it, but then he took a few steps back to take a closer look. After reading it for a couple of seconds, he silently cursed and returned to his office.
According to the poster, the person giving the lecture today was an associate professor from S University’s history department, Xia Chaoyang.
To hell with S University, to hell with the lecture, to hell with the associate professor.
Tao Ling deliberately lingered after work, standing on the corridor above the atrium, watching a crowd of people pour out of the lecture hall. Only after the classroom door was locked did he meander to the back of the religious studies department, glancing distantly at the flower shop.
By the time he descended, the entire building was deserted. Just as he reached the first-floor lobby, someone called out to him from behind, “Professor Tao!”
He turned around to see a girl with a delicate face and large, bright eyes. He recognized her, not just by her distinctive name, Yun Nan, but also by her notable appearance.
He nodded, and Yun Nan quickly stepped up to him. “Professor Tao, are you off work?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied. “Here to attend another lecture?”
Yun Nan nodded with a smile, biting her lip.
As they exited the building, Tao Ling assumed Yun Nan would head east, but she continued to walk beside him. So he casually asked, “Are you taking the shuttle back to the new campus?”
Yun Nan responded shyly, “Yes, Professor Tao. But I’m not taking the shuttle today. My family is picking me up later. I’m going to find my brother now.”
Tao Ling made a sound of acknowledgment and didn’t ask further. He walked ahead, while the young girl, perhaps feeling a bit self-conscious, kept half a step behind him.
Together, they exited through the west gate, but hadn’t yet crossed the street. Just thinking about seeing Wen Qingying soon made Tao Ling feel uneasy.
As they got closer to the flower shop, he looked up and saw Wen Qingying standing at the door, looking in his direction.
Tao Ling’s heart tightened abruptly, and he couldn’t help but lower his eyes, avoiding Wen Qingying’s gaze for the moment.
When they were only a few steps away, Tao Ling was considering saying goodbye to Yun Nan to let her go ahead, when he heard her say, “Goodbye, Professor Tao.”
“Hmm?” Tao Ling hadn’t quite processed it, but he still replied, “Goodbye.”
Yun Nan smiled, waved at him, then turned and immediately ran towards Wen Qingying, jumping up to cling onto him.
Tao Ling was stunned. He saw Wen Qingying put his arm around Yun Nan and then look up to smile at him.
In that instant, everything clicked into place, and Tao Ling finally realized that the girl he had seen with Wen Qingying before was actually Yun Nan.
So she really was his younger sister. He suddenly felt a bit like laughing, and even felt an urge to rush onto the forum and shout about it.
But that was just a fleeting thought.
“Hey?” Yun Nan stood straight, noticing that Wen Qingying was looking past her. She turned around and saw Tao Ling still standing there. Looking between the two of them, she asked, “Professor Tao, do you know my brother?”
Tao Ling composed himself and calmly “Mm”ed.
Yun Nan’s eyes sparkled, and she smiled, “What a coincidence!”
Feeling awkward inside but not showing it on his face, Tao Ling replied, “Yes, what a coincidence.”
Tao Ling wanted to say goodbye to Wen Qingying and leave, but Wen Qingying was gesturing something to Yun Nan, and she was replying to him using sign language as well.
At that moment, a car drove up and parked neatly by the curb opposite the flower shop.
Tao Ling: “……” He recognized the car immediately; it was the same one driven by that tall man named Bai Guan and Wen Qingying’s older sister.
The car window rolled down slowly, and sure enough, the woman in the passenger seat shouted, “Nannan, let’s go. We’ve been waiting for you for ages, why did you come around here again?”
Yun Nan turned her head to look at the woman, feeling a bit embarrassed as she glanced at Tao Ling before continuing her conversation with Wen Qingying.
The woman’s temperament was completely opposite to Yun Nan’s. Impatiently, she yelled again, “Hurry up! How many times have I told you not to associate with riffraff? What’s even worth comparing with them?”
Wen Qingying gave her a cold look, then turned back to take a bouquet from the rack. He handed it to Yun Nan and gently patted her on the head.
“What’s ‘riffraff’ supposed to mean?” Yun Nan pouted dejectedly, then turned to Tao Ling, who was still standing nearby. “Sorry, Professor Tao. Goodbye.”
“Ge, I’m leaving,” she said, waving at Wen Qingying. Clearly reluctant but with no other choice, Wen Qingying followed her to the street.
Yun Nan got into the car. The woman glanced indifferently at Wen Qingying, then put on her sunglasses. The window rolled up, and the car swiftly departed.
Tao Ling thought to himself, feeling like a bystander in a custody battle, witnessing the “scene” unfold.
There was so much dog blood, even more dog blood than the eighteen buckets that he had imagined before.
Turning to look at Wen Qingying, Tao Ling saw him still gazing in the direction the car had gone, his expression a mix of confusion and bewilderment. It tugged at Tao Ling’s heartstrings, making him want to go over and give Wen Qingying a hug.
But that was just wishful thinking.
After a moment, Wen Qingying snapped out of it, smiled at Tao Ling, and typed on his phone, “I’m sorry, sir, you had to witness that.”
Tao Ling was curious, but it was clearly a private matter. He replied, “Not at all.”
Wen Qingying clearly was feeling very down, but he quickly masked it and asked Tao Ling if he wanted to come into the flower shop and sit for a while.
Tao Ling wanted to accompany him, but he was afraid Wen Qingying would have to force himself to converse with him. Just as he was about to refuse, Wen Qingying handed his phone over again: “Sir, if you’re not busy, could you talk with me for a bit? Just a little bit is okay.”
Was this a need, a request for help?
Tao Ling felt uncertain, but he gathered his thoughts and agreed, following Wen Qingying into the flower shop.
Originally, Wen Qingying could still talk about the contents of the class, but today, as soon as he sat down, Wen Qingying didn’t ask any questions. Tao Ling didn’t know where to start, so he remained silent.
This silence lasted until dusk. Tao Ling contemplated leaving, but he couldn’t bear to. He hesitated for a moment, then another, and still didn’t move.
The streetlights outside turned on. Wen Qingying escorted a customer out and then sat next to Tao Ling, pushing his phone toward him.
On it was written: “Sir, would you like to have dinner together later? Today is my birthday.”
TL: Thanks for your patience everyone! I’m finally free from finals, so the upload schedule will soon go back to how it was previously. However, I’ll be going on a trip next week, so I’ll resume updating starting from next next week. To those of you also in school, good job surviving this school year, and enjoy your summer!
Also, it seems like this chapter came out on March 10th, so a very belated happy birthday to Wen Qingying lol
