The Lingering Sounds of Blooming Flowers

Chapter 3 Part 1

Lu Chenfeng finished smoking in the public smoking area and returned to the lobby. He found a plate of stir-fried wild mushrooms, a small bowl of rice and chicken soup, with a place of Rushan cheese dipped with a jam made from flowers, fruits and tea. Lu Chenfeng looked around the lobby and asked the young man with glasses at the counter, “Where’s your boss?” 

Jian Yi was devouring rice by the computer and his expressions were screaming “happy New Year”. He licked his lips in satisfaction and replied, “He went to bed already.” 

Lu Chenfeng looked at his watch in surprise; it was barely eight. He blurted it out, “This early?” 

Jian Yi stopped chewing for a second and continued to chew like a hamster, he smiled politely, “Early to bed, early to rise. It’s good for your body.” 

Lu Chenfeng sat down and pulled the plates closer to him. When he picked his chopsticks, he couldn’t help but to sigh. He hasn’t had a proper dinner for too long. 

Jian Yi took away the empty plates and Lu Chenfeng didn’t linger around, but went back to his room and unpacked everything. He took off his coat and went to the bathroom with his toiletries. Lu Chenfeng opened the curtains, feeling refreshed, and the night view of Erhai Lake’s ocean view revealed itself completely. 

Moonlight glistened on the surface of the water like the milky way. Lu Chenfeng pushed half of the window open and the cool breeze brushed his skin. He breathed deeply and stared at the blurry outline of the mountains in the distance and went to bed. 

He left the light at the entrance on and laid on the soft bed. His body and mind were relaxed as he stared at the ceiling, trying to empty the riot of thoughts in his mind. He felt a moment of relief before terrible emotions filled his chest again. He changed his posture many times and felt the blunt beating of his heart, yet the quiet and tranquil night made him feel anxious. 

His life was calm and stable before. He wasn’t too successful with his job but at least everything went on smoothly. But after failing once, he became anxious all the time. Time seemed to shrink and flowed away quickly like water, yet he paced in his spot every single day without succeeding in anything. 

His watch made a tiny ticking noise at midnight everyday. Lu Chenfeng had the habit of asking himself why he wasted yesterday again, yet making the decision that he won’t waste the new day, he must pull himself together and try his best. 

But ‘today’ eventually turned into ‘yesterday’. 

Lu Chenfeng closed his eyes in despair as he never thought he was so fragile. He merely lost a friendship he valued very much, he screwed up the jewelry brand he worked hard to establish for eight years, he lost the businesses he negotiated with his life and closed his workshop. 

‘Merely’? Lu Chenfeng frowned and hid his head in his arms and hugged himself tightly. He clenched his teeth; these were the things that all he had in life. 

He fell asleep with disappointment again just like usual. He was half wake, half asleep, until he finally soaked into his dream and picked up the tiniest bit of calmness in his heart. 

Lu Chenfeng woke up when a beam of light just lit up the skyline. He spent a few seconds opening his eyes and got used to the unfamiliarity of the guest house. Then he recalled how he came to Da Li and glanced at the clock on the wall: 5:30am. 

He slowly sat up, lifted the blanket up and got off the bed blankly. He opened the balcony door and shivered at the chilliness of Erhai Lake in March. 

He draped a coat over him and rested his arms on the fence. A few lights were still lit along the left shore, Lu Chenfeng could hear the faint noise of children playing, mixed with the melodies of folk songs. 

Lu Chenfeng couldn’t hear the lyrics clearly but it was melodious and soft, making him feel relaxed. 

A seagull stopped next to him on the fence. It tilted its head and cleaned its feathers. It wasn’t scared of humans; it took a step towards Lu Chenfeng’s hand and pecked its feathers, then took another step and pecked again. 

He followed the seagull’s eyes and turned towards the right side. He saw a dim light shone on the viewing platform from the lobby. Someone was awake early in the morning just like him. 

Lu Chenfeng took the house key and closed the door, heading towards the front yard for a cigarette to wake himself up. He crossed the corridor, stepped into the front lobby area and stopped in his tracks at where light was coming front. 

It was Lin Chaosheng.