Tao Ling stood there in a daze. Someone outside asked, “Teacher? Are you friends with the owner? Hurry up and call him!”
Hearing this, the owner of the neighboring store replied, “They are friends, but the owner is deaf. A call won’t do any good.”
Tao Ling ran to the door and asked, “Does anyone know the direction the owner ran to?”
Someone pointed at the street behind the corner. Tao Ling hurriedly thanked them, then went in that direction.
He had been on this street before, and had even brought Wen Qingying with him. After passing through a short alleyway, he wanted to continue going straight, but then heard some painful cries nearby.
Tao Ling had already passed by the location, so when he heard it, he immediately backed up, then turned to see three people in the alleyway. One leaned on the wall, while another was being pressed on the floor. The third person who held him down was Wen Qingying.
The one off to the side had a panicked expression and obviously had been already beaten, but still wanted to use the opportunity to sneak attack Wen Qingying.
“What are you doing!” Tao Ling shouted, startling the person who was halfway through the sneak attack. They hurriedly glanced at their companion, then turned and ran from the alleyway.
Tao Ling strode forward and grabbed Wen Qingying’s hand, preventing it from descending further.
Wen Qingying was startled, and when he looked back at him, his eyes were stained a little red.
The person on the ground covered his head and glanced over at them. He was obviously just a second-rate scoundrel without much fighting power. He didn’t look to be over 17 or 18, and it seemed like Wen Qingying didn’t hit too hard either.
Tao Ling helped Wen Qingying up, then kicked the boy on the ground. “Scram.”
“Wait!” Seeing the boy get up, Tao Ling grabbed Wen Qingying, then suddenly also shouted.
“What?” The boy asked fiercely while taking a few steps backwards.
As soon as he saw Tao Ling, Wen Qingying suddenly calmed down. His expression wasn’t completely gentle, but at least he wasn’t angry anymore.
Tao Ling looked at him, confirming that he wouldn’t act anymore, let go of his wrist, and walked to the boy, asking, “You guys smashed the shop?”
The boy raised his chin. “So what? Hit me then! Beat me to death! Let me tell you, laozi1an arrogant way to refer to oneself. Laozi for males, laoniang for females isn’t afraid of death!” He then spat on the ground.
“What school are you from?” Tao Ling frowned. “Who told you to do this? Bullying a deaf-mute person gives you such a sense of accomplishment, huh?”
The boy had an unyielding and fearless attitude. He glared at Wen Qingying, then continued butting heads with Tao Ling. “Would you even be able to handle it?”
Tao Ling expressionlessly approached him, then suddenly pinned his hands behind his back and took advantage of the situation to pinch his neck and push him forward against the wall. “What do you think, would I?”
Wen Qingying took a step forward. Tao Ling shook his head at him, motioning for him to stay out of it, and tightened his grip. “Are you going to talk?”
“Strangle me to death, if you have the guts!” The boy looked at Tao Ling viciously, refusing to talk.
Tao Ling looked back at Wen Qingying, seeing that his mood seemed off, he immediately let go. “Fuck off, don’t let me see you again.”
The boy was inexplicably freed. He looked back at the two people and saw that they really didn’t plan on interrogating him further. He looked a little disappointed, cussed something, spat on the ground again, then swaggered out with hands in his pockets.
Tao Ling: “…”
If someone really did order the second-rate scoundrels to smash up the store, it was probably because they saw that Wen Qingying wouldn’t be able to deal with the ruffians. The other party also wouldn’t be able to afford to pay the compensation. They smashed the store, so they would have to take responsibility themselves. They wouldn’t be able to come up with excuses. It would be a complete waste of time and energy.
The boy was already long gone, but Wen Qingying stood there in place, head lowered. Tao Ling walked in front of him and saw his tall nose and thick eyelashes, but couldn’t clearly see his expression.
Both sides of the alley were the backs of houses, so not many people would come and go. Tao Ling awkwardly lowered his body, tilted his head, and looked up from below, trying to see Wen Qingying’s face clearly.
Wen Qingying still looked at the ground and not him. Tao Ling sighed, knowing that he probably knew who did it.
After a moment of silence, Tao Ling reached out and held his chin, wanting him to look at himself. Wen Qingying moved very slowly and turned his face away.
Tao Ling let out a “tsk,” then used strength again. Wen Qingying didn’t resist this time, and raised his head along with the force. His eyes were redder than before.
Sighing in his thoughts, Tao Ling touched Wen Qingying’s arm. Wen Qingying pursed his lips and looked down at him.
Tao Ling didn’t understand what the flower store’s value to Wen Qingying was, but he suddenly noticed a signal for help from Wen Qingying’s gaze. He thought this was a little inconceivable, but this look softened his heart. Without thinking, he raised his arms and hugged Wen Qingying.
After a while, Wen Qingying returned the hug and put his arms around Tao Ling’s waist. He was taller than Tao Ling, so he had to slightly bend his back to let his chin rest on Tao Ling’s shoulder, making him seem a little aggrieved.
This time, they were even closer to one another. Tao Ling keenly noticed that Wen Qingying’s hands were shaking, so with heartache, he leaned forward again and gently stroked his back.
After an unknown amount of time, a sharp horn sounded from the entrance of the alley. Tao Ling immediately pulled himself out of this trance and remembered that the flower store was still a mess, so he patted Wen Qingying’s back.
Wen Qingying understood and straightened up. His eyes had regained clarity and calmness.
The two of them went back to the flower shop together. When they arrived, the people who had gathered at the door had already dispersed, and only passersby looked back from time to time.
The owner of the fruit shop next door had been helping to keep an eye on the shop. Seeing that they had returned, he smiled, “You’re back? Is everything okay?”
Tao Ling smiled, “Thank you, boss. It’s all good, we’ll clean it up.”
Wen Qingying also smiled, probably guessing what the two were talking about, and nodded to thank the owner.
The two then spent an entire afternoon tidying up the flower shop.
It was easy to destroy things, but it always felt like there was never an end to rebuilding. When Tao Ling picked up a piece of broken ceramic from the ground, he suddenly remembered that Wen Qingying had given him an example when they were chatting before, about the departure and return of the poetry tradition.
Without knowing why, Tao Ling at this moment suddenly had a new idea. He felt that Wen Qingying wasn’t interested in the direction that tradition goes in, he was just sensitive to broken things.
Because he was in the midst of thinking, there was suddenly a sharp pain on his finger.
Tao Ling looked down and saw that the one ceramic piece was now stained with a little bit of blood. When he had just raised his hand, without even getting a chance to take a closer look at the wound, Wen Qingying had already pulled him up.
He was too strong, so Tao Ling could only go along with him.
He was pulled to the bathroom to wash his hands, and when he came out, he was brought to be seated on a chair. Wen Qingying took a bandaid from the drawer. Tao Ling used the opportunity to wipe his hands, but the paper towel was snatched away just as he took it in his hand.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, seeing Wen Qingying treat him like a child as he lowered his head to dry his hands, and then carefully applied the bandaid.
After the treatment, Tao Ling said, “It’s just a small wound.”
Wen Qingying knew what he was saying, so he took out his phone to type, concisely saying, “You don’t need to help anymore.” After showing it to Tao Ling, he immediately got up and went to clean up the pots.
Tao Ling wanted to laugh a little. Wen Qingying had been somewhat weird after coming out of that alley, suddenly becoming a little overbearing.
Fortunately, the cleaning was almost done, and Wen Qingying could do the rest alone.
An afternoon passed in a flash, and the store was clean again. But there were a lot of broken things, and many flowers were trampled on the ground. Wen Qingying couldn’t bear to throw them away, so all the flowers that could be planted were planted back, and he was busy until the evening.
Tao Ling went to the restaurant next door and bought back two bowls of noodles. The two sat opposite each other and ate in silence. He walked around in the store a few times before sitting back down again.
He glanced at Wen Qingying, and when he lowered his head and saw the bandaid on his finger, he jokingly wrote, “Is this bandaid the one I bought last time?”
Wen Qingying nodded, and as he looked at a pot of white camellias that was almost bare from the damage, he appeared to be at a loss.
After thinking about it for a bit, Tao Ling decided to directly ask, and wrote, “Why did they smash up the store?”
Wen Qingying finally shifted his focus off the flowers, and typed on his phone, “They were probably hired by someone.”
Tao Ling: “Do you know who it could be?”
After this question was put out in the open, Wen Qingying remained silent for a long time. He finally wrote a name down on his phone: “Yun Xin.”
The name sounded particularly nice. As soon as Tao Ling saw it, he thought, of course. His younger sister was called Yun Nan, so his older sister’s last name was probably also Yun.
Tao Ling didn’t ask further. However, Wen Qingying took the initiative and wrote, “Yun Xin is my stepfather’s daughter. Yun Nan is the daughter of my mom and my stepfather. They don’t like it when I’m too close to her.”
Seeing this short explanation, Tao Ling was silent. He didn’t continue asking why it wasn’t a “she,” but a “they.” It seemed meaningless to pursue the difference between the two.
Just as they settled into silence, the phone rang.
Tao Ling opened the unread email and saw that it was an invitation letter for the academic conference in Beijing. After replying, he looked up and saw Wen Qingying’s profile. His heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Wen Qingying was looking at that pot of flowers again, but Tao Ling’s phone was suddenly brought in front his eyes. “I’m going to Beijing for a bit before the New Year, do you want to come with me?”
Not to the suburbs, not to any nearby attractions, not even to neighboring provinces, but to Beijing.
It would be far. No matter the purpose of the trip, as long as they reach an agreement, there would always be a sense of exploration and traveling. And this feeling only occurred between those who were close.
If he thought about it carefully, this would mean that the two were close… friends.
Wen Qingying was stunned for a long time. Tao Ling thought of the scene when he mentioned this to him last time, and thought that he probably wouldn’t want to go.
After a few seconds, seeing that Wen Qingying still hadn’t responded, Tao Ling pulled back his phone. Just as he was about to say that it didn’t matter if he didn’t go, Wen Qingying gently pressed on his hand.
Tao Ling was startled. He tried to ignore the warmth on his fingers, and looked at him questioningly.
After a bit, Wen Qingying suddenly realized what he was doing. He embarrassedly withdrew his hand, opened his phone, and answered, “Sir, will I disturb you from your work?”
“Of course not.” Tao Ling smiled, and continued typing, “We can stay until the end of the New Year, but you have to cooperate with my schedule for the first two days. Is that okay?”
Wen Qingying nodded after reading it. It was the first time that entire day that he smiled at Tao Ling.
In a place where he couldn’t see, Tao Ling quietly clenched his fist. He found that he was having more and more trouble looking at Wen Qingying for a long time.
He was afraid that the hurricane in his heart would roar itself out.
