The Lingering Sounds of Blooming Flowers

Lu Chenfeng never acted impulsively. He was a steady person in nature, he was used to thinking before making decisions, and it was because he had been working in the jewelry business for so many years. Whether it was selling gems or making designs, every single part of the process always had something to do with money and influence of his brand, that was why he had to consider everything carefully. 

He pulled his luggage into his original room and closed the door, shutting all the noises outside and quietness suddenly filled his ears. Only the final beams of twilight remained in the room, he took off the watch and placed it on the bedside table. He went to the balcony and settled down in the rattan chair. 

Although this trip was a sudden decision without plans or intentions, it was definitely not a rash decision. The reality had been squeezing the last bit of passion he had for life and Lu Chenfeng couldn’t deny the fact that he was the second type of travelers who were completely disappointed in life when Lin Chaosheng asked about his thoughts on travel written in that notebook. 

That’s why he wanted to stop the meaningless efforts and busy life, and he picked travel to cease the stress. But he couldn’t find a clear reason as to why he decided to stay here longer. The nice scenery, good environment, great accommodation, friendly owner; none of these was the decisive factor. 

He saw a beam of light shone from the shore from the left side of his field of view. A fishing boat fluctuated with the rippling waves. The night was dark yet calm, the fishing boat broke the still image and Lu Chenfeng concluded that his stay was an impulsive decision. 

He rarely had feelings like this. 

Even though he had a week ahead of him, he didn’t think that it would be boring. He loved reading and the bookshelves in the front lobby were perfect to his liking. The atmosphere here was great for reading too, he could spend these times using the way he was comfortable with. 

He had dinner in his room. When Jian Yi came to clean up the plates, he gave Lu Chenfeng a bag of grapes, “This is from our boss, thank you for supporting Beautiful Dusk.” 

A night of dreamless sleep. Perhaps it was because he drank some mandarin tea and grapes before bed, it was already dim outside when he woke up. It was half past six; he slept for over seven hours. 

He cleaned himself and ran his fingers through his hair a few times. Lu Chenfeng put his pants and shirts on once again. When he rolled his sleeves up, he realized that he lost one of the buttons without noticing. Although it didn’t make a difference, but Lu Chenfeng’s heart ached slightly. 

This shirt was the last birthday present he received from his father before he passed away. 

He went past the front lobby with a box of cigarettes in his pocket, Jian Yi was handing out breakfast for each room. Lu Chenfeng pushed the door open and lowered his head in an attempt to light a cigar. The fire of the lighter shone brightly under the shadow of the roof. 

Lu Chenfeng always kept his eyes low when he smoked. He stared somewhere and emptied his mind, smoke slowly floating higher into the sky in the distance hid the emotions in his eyes. The way he smoked made him look lazy yet his posture looked elegant. 

“Good morning.” 

A clean voice pierced into the personal barrier Lu Chenfeng had just built for himself. Lights slowly came back into his empty eyes as he looked around, failing to find anyone. 

He distinguished his cigarette and looked up into the morning light, someone was standing on the third floor behind the fence. Lu Chenfeng blocked the piercing light with a hand and replied after seeing that it was Lin Chaosheng, “Good morning.” 

“Do you want to come up?” Lin Chaosheng invited. 

Lu Chenfeng replied, “Sure”, and threw the cigar into the rubbishe bin. Before he could walk away, Lin Chaosheng’s voice sounded again, “Change into something warmer before you come.” 

Lu Chenfeng stopped and looked at him, finding that Lin Chaosheng was moving parallely to him, and their shadows on the ground overlapped. 

“It’s a little windly,” Lin Chaosheng stopped, “Quite cold.” 

Lu Chenfeng had a set of sports wear in his luggae. It was light gray, two straight white lines went down each side of his pants. He changed his shoes too and climbed up the stairs at the end of the corridor. The wooden door was half opened, Lu Chenfeng stepped over and his vision broadened. The sea breeze rushed to him, the clouds were so low as if he could touch the sky if he stretched out his hand. 

Lin Chaosheng sat on a bench and looked back at the sound. He draped his arm on the back of the bench and smiled, “You look younger than me right now.” 

Lu Chenfeng put his hands in his pockets, “Is it because of the clothes?” 

“Mainly the collar,” Lin Chaosheng waited for Lu Chenfeng to sit down before turning back, “Zip it to the top and fold it out, I stopped doing that when I was in high school.” 

Lu Chenfeng didn’t think too much and unzipped it to his collar bones, “It’s a habit from the school, I always wanted to fold it whenever I wear something sporty.” 

Lin Chaosheng replied, “Zip it back on, the cold wind’s going inside.” 

Lu Chenfeng zipped it back to the top again. He puffed his mouth and breathed, shoving his sharp chin into the collar. He shrank his tall shoulders and neck from the coldness and Lin Chaosheng pursed his lips together. He looked like a pure and simple young boy, different to the matureness he showed yesterday. Lin Chaosheng’s heart rippled.