INS Chapter 7

Tao Ling was startled when his palm touched a small piece of something hard. While holding it out of reflex, he accidentally pinched Wen Qingying’s fingertips.

After a pause, Wen Qingying took away his hand.

 

Tao Ling lowered his head and, using the light that spilled out from the streetside shops, saw that what lay in his palm turned out to be a piece of fruit candy.

He curled his lips, looked at the golden wrapping paper, and said, “What kind of grownup man would carry around candy? To coax a girlfriend or a kid?”

Wen Qingying just lowered his eyes and looked at him, as quiet as ever.

 

Tao Ling held the candy and looked up at Wen Qingying.

Within the border of light and dark, the youth’s face was calm. Tao Ling suddenly remembered a very old metaphor, and felt that this person’s facial features were carefully carved out of marble.

It turned out that so many of those phrases that were ancient enough for contempt were actually all truths. Only those who didn’t experience them would wonder why they still continue to exist.

 

Wen Qingying had no idea what he was thinking and held out the phone screen for him to see. It read: “After drinking, eating candy can help you relax a bit.”

Tao Ling smiled, passed him by, and walked straight towards the flower shop. “Can I come and sit at your place?”

It wasn’t until he stopped at the door that Wen Qingying followed behind.

 

After entering the store, Wen Qingying pulled out the chair by the table and motioned for Tao Ling to sit down.

Once the guest was situated, he took a cup to the back and washed it repeatedly, then turned to pour Tao Ling a cup of warm water and began to pack up the shop and prepare for closing.

 

The freshly cut flowers from outside were brought in first and placed in buckets next to each other, followed closely by the potted plants.

He didn’t realize it earlier, but he felt a little dizzy after sitting down just now. Tao Ling drank half a glass of water and sat quietly at the table as he watched Wen Qingying bustle around, without any intention to get up and help.

 

Within a few minutes, as if by magic, the entire space in the store was suddenly filled with beautiful flowers, leaving only a narrow path in the middle, as if an immortal’s long sword swung through the air and created a road directly from the sea of flowers.

 

Wen Qingying was very tall. Even though he was not strong, he felt like he was full of energy overall. Especially when he was doing things, that feeling wasn’t from being able to lift up many heavy things, but rather another form of youth’s vitality.

It was similar to when someone who was energetic played lively on the basketball field, but he was only more quiet and calm.

About twenty minutes later, Wen Qingying closed the glass door, and sat down on the other side of Tao Ling.

Seeing Tao Ling not having any intent of communication, he pulled out a deck of cards from some gaps under the table and started drawing simplistic drawings on it.

After watching for a while, Tao Ling suddenly grabbed the corner of the paper he used as a mat for his hand.

 

The paper under his hand got taken away, and there was a hint of coldness under the side of the pinky finger. Wen Qingying observed Tao Ling’s facial expression, took out a pen from the side, and gave it to him.

Tao Ling wrote on the paper, “Are these cards for customers?”

The paper got pushed back, and Wen Qingying wrote on it, “Yes, sir, it was for those who need cards for their flowers. If customers don’t like it, then the blank ones are used.”

 

Tao Ling’s handwriting was narrow but beautiful, but he habitually wrote it messy. Wen Qingying’s handwriting felt rather generous and magnificent, much neater too. When the two lines of words were put together, Tao Ling suddenly found it artistic.

It was like daisies growing with weeds.

Wen Qingxing’s was like flowers, and his was the weed.

 

What kind of analogy is this? Tao Ling pinched his eyebrows.

He thought perhaps it was because he never verbally spoke that Wen Qingying would use formal words when communicating with people. But it wasn’t annoying at all.

This habit made him feel even quieter, as if he were someone who always lived in books and letters.

 

“Why do you want to open a flower shop?” Tao Ling wrote.

Wen Qingying tilted his head, looked at the blue hydrangea, and finally wrote, “My mom told me that she used to open a flower shop. She really wanted to open one again.”

 

Tao Ling remembered the time he was in the cemetery and took a discrete glance at his face. After seeing him without any unusual expressions, he thought about it and asked, “Are you tired?”

Wen Qingying answered honestly: “Yes, I have to wake up early every morning. Restocking was very troublesome, and I wasn’t very capable. I still unable to arrange and pack those flowers well. But I’m very happy. Sir, are you the professor of the provincial university?”

 

“Yes, but I’m temporarily in some administrative position, only giving lectures occasionally.”

“Can I go to your class when you have one?”

“Yes, but….”

“Many things don’t necessarily need ears to listen. I can feel the class itself.”

That wasn’t wrong, but Tao Ling was still a little helpless. Class was a place where ears and mouth were needed the most. Things that came from bursts of passion right at the spot were more valuable than others. However, he didn’t want to reject Wen Qingying’s wish, and replied: “Okay.”

 

“What does Sir teach? I can try to read over some materials first.”

“I graduated from a religious institution, Chinese taoism.”

After receiving the response, Wen Qingying blinked. The expression in his eyes was clear, without any impurities. There was helplessness in his expression, and he continued writing: “Can studying religion help us face the fading of life?”

 

The words they wrote weren’t small, and they didn’t deliberately try to arrange the spacing. When the conversation reached this point, the piece of A4 paper was almost completely filled up.

Tao Ling spread out his left hand and pressed the edge of the paper, reading the last sentence back and forth several times.

The fingers holding the pen gradually tightened, and the joints became blue and white. He did not continue to write, but still looked at the paper and said: “No. To me, it can’t.”

 

The alcohol still lingered in his head, making Tao Ling feel dizzy.

After a while, he closed the cap of his pen, gently put the pen and paper aside, and opened the candy Wen Qingying gave him just now.

 

Lemon flavored. Tao Ling lowered his eyes and looked at the candy wrapper, then folded it in half again with his fingertips in boredom. Wen Qingying was silent for a while and continued to pull out the cards and draw.

The drawings were all flowers and plants, but with just a few strokes, various varieties of flowers appeared on the paper.

 

By the time Tao Ling felt it was almost time to say goodbye, it was already twelve o’clock at night.

He was startled when he saw the time, clearly feeling like he had just sat down.

 

“I’m leaving. I’ve even delayed your closing the store and taking a rest.” He typed on his phone, and after Wen Qingying finished reading, he immediately stood up.

Wen Qingying smiled and stood up with him.

When he arrived at the door, Tao Ling realized that Wen Qingying was also leaving, so he stood in the corner and waited.

 

The stepped flower stand was still outside, showing the nature of the store even after it has closed. Wen Qingying walked to Tao Ling and handed him the bouquet of daisies from earlier, which had been wrapped in a layer of kraft paper.

“What a waste,” Tao Ling said.

 

After walking side by side for a while, they were almost at the end of the street. Tao Ling asked, “Which way are you going?”

He glanced sideways. Wen Qingying looked straight ahead.

Tao Ling then remembered that he couldn’t hear him and felt it was a little tiring to use his phone to type. So he simply poked him and pointed in the direction he wanted to go.

Wen Qingying smiled and pointed in the same direction.

 

After turning into a quieter street, Tao Ling stopped ten minutes later.

This was an old community with dim street lights. Wen Qingying turned and saw the community gate, then pointed to the intersection in front and waved to Tao Ling.

Before Tao Ling had time to respond, he had already left him with only a view of his back.

 

There was a short zebra crossing not far away, and Wen Qingying strode across it.

In the cool breeze in the middle of the night, a wutong leaf floated down from nowhere, whirled and hit his shoulder, and was caught by his hand just before it fell.

 

His hands weren’t clumsy at all.

Tao Ling watched the figure leave, smiled, then turned around and swiped his card to enter the community.

 

After entering the house, Tao Ling threw down everything in his hands, leaving only the bunch of daisies.

He wanted to find a glass bottle immediately, so he unbuttoned his collar with one hand and walked towards the storage room. When he opened the cabinet door, he put the flowers beside him and glanced over them casually.

After a two-second pause, Tao Ling grabbed the bouquet again.

 

The kraft paper was opaque, so he couldn’t immediately spot it—sandwiched between the flower stems at the bottom was a single card.