Black Lotus

“Tang Shuo?”

“It’s me. It’s me,” Tang Shuo came closer and smiled.

Wen Niannan looked at Tang Shuo, shocked, but he suddenly lowered his head.

“You… How do you know that I’ll be here?”

Looks like Tang Shuo was the person asking about him…

“I saw your name yesterday in the hospital’s bags, so I came to check and ran into you. Haha, do you always come around noon?”

Even though it sounded like he was joking around, Tang Shuo’s eyes told him otherwise. 

Looking at that truthful face, Wen Niannan knew that Tang Shuo found out about everything.

“Did you find out that…”

“Niannan.” Tang Shuo interrupted, and looked at him straight in the eyes,  “Don’t worry about it… You don’t have to explain.”

Hearing the comforting tone, Wen Niannan held back what he was about to say and looked down at the wheel with a complicated look in his eyes. 

The car suddenly shook, and Wen Niannan saw that Niannan sat on the passenger’s seat to his right.

“What are you…”

“I walked here. Niannan, do you mind giving me a ride back? My house is so far away from here. You will help me out, right?” Tang Shuo blinked innocently.

Wen Niannan looked at his face and couldn’t do anything about it, “Fine.”

Tang Shuo’s face turned bright, and he put on his seat belt immediately, just in case Wen Niannan regretted his decision. 

Along the way, Tang Shuo talked about their times in school, and they laughed so hard that their tears almost came out. 

“Once when I was hiding in the library to wait for you, I waited so long that I even fell asleep on the desk in the corner. When I woke up, I found myself locked inside alone. I couldn’t even use the restroom that night.”

“Waiting for me?”

“Heard from your classmate that you always go read in the library during the afternoons, so I wanted to meet you there.”

Wen Niannan pursed his lips, feeling quite bad.

“I used to go to the library in the afternoons because…”

Seeing Wen Niannan paused, Tang Shuo asked, “Because of what?”

“Because… Gu Yansheng always went at that time.”

“Really? Oh, that’s why,” His voice was filled with disappointment and sorrow. 

They didn’t speak for the rest of the ride.

Until the car came to a stop in front of the Leqing Street studio, he looked at Tang Shuo.

“We’re here.”

“Okay.” Tang Shuo got out of the car, but his hand was still clinging onto the car door.

“Niannan, may I go to the library with you again?”

Wen Niannan was surprised by the request, but he still said to Tang Shuo, “Sure.”

After hearing an affirmative response, Tang Shuo smiled and let go of the car. Wen Niannan watched as he left and signed before starting his car again.

After he got back, Wen Niannan noticed that the soil in the garden had been moved, and there was wet dirt outside on the pavement as well.

“Uncle Xu, is Aunt Lan planning to use this garden to plant some veggies?”

Uncle Xu walked over with a shovel in his hand and said cheerfully, “The old lady wants me to fix up the deserted garden a little and plant some flowers.”

When hearing that it was for planting flowers, Wen Niannan paused and said, “Does Yansheng know about this? Did he agree?”

“He was here when I worked. He even asked what flowers I was going to plant.”

Knowing that Gu Yansheng agreed to plant flowers, he was both shocked and happy. He had always been a big fan of plants, but because of that certain occasion, he stopped planting. 

“Then… May I help? I want to plant some too.”

“Sure, please use my tools for now. I can get another set.”

Wen Niannan quickly put on a pair of gloves and started using the small shovel to loosen up the soil. Thinking that this small garden will start growing beautiful flowers again, his lips curled up without him knowing. 

Wen Niannan poured some water while digging through the soil. His hands and feet both got dirty, but his smile was still there.

He tried to wipe away a bit of dirt on his face, but because his arm was already dirty, his face got another patch of dirt on it without him even realizing it. 

From the upstairs balcony, Gu Yansheng saw this and lit a cigarette while tapping quietly on the railing. He still didn’t get why this person would be so happy just planting some flowers.

Uncle Xu got some more tools and started on the other end of the garden. He asked as he worked, “Do you always plant flowers back in your old house?”

Wen Niannan’s smile faded a little, and a sense of sadness came to his eyes. He was silent for a while and said, “My mom loved flowers. Her favorite was lily flowers, and because of that, mom and dad planted plenty around the house. They always took time out of their days to take care of the beautiful flowers.”

His father didn’t know how to plant flowers, but for his mom, he still happily learned from others. This was pure love…

Translated by: Summit

Edited by: UnderTheMoon