Chapter 07

Chapter 07

An image Xiang ChangKong would remember for a long time

The next morning, Wei YiChen was ready to leave. He had just walked to the door of his bedroom, only to find himself locked in. He frowned, slamming against the door several times, but the door refused to budge.

Mother Wei heard the slams and hurriedly rushed over: “Son, don’t bother. The doors in our house are the sturdiest ones in the market, stop it.”

Wei YiChen: “…”

He held back his rising anger and adopted a spoiled tone: “Mom, why did you lock me in?”

Mother Wei replied: “It’s all Old Wei’s idea. He said that you would definitely run so he locked you in.”

Wei YiChen exploded: “What is he thinking? He’s just treating me like a prisoner now, isn’t he?”

“No, no, your father said that as long as you and Nie Lei…”

“No way, no way!”

Wei YiChen’s sudden roar frightened Mother Wei. She sighed then tried to persuade him: “Son, you don’t have to treat this as a date or anything, it’s just that Nie Lei really is a good girl. You won’t lose anything if you just get to know her right? Besides, with the way you are right now, I can’t feel reassured.”

As Mother Wei tapered off, she sounded close to tears. After a long silence, Wei YiChen sighed and said: “Alright, Mom, don’t be sad. I’ll go.”

Mother Wei was somewhat surprised: “Really?”

“Yeah.” Wei YiChen replied, “But I am a little hungry. Ask auntie to come up and give me something to eat.”

“Okay, you wait, I’ll go and tell her.”

Hearing the fading footsteps outside, Wei YiChen quickly packed up his things and sent messages to his brothers. After arranging everything, he rushed out as soon as the auntie opened his door to deliver his meal.

Auntie was knocked to the side and in a blink of an eye, Wei YiChen had already run out of the gate. The employee by the gate chased after him, but couldn’t catch up. Wei YiChen ran all the way out of the neighborhood and saw three motorcycles driving towards him.

“Brother Chen-”

One of the people waved at him. Wei YiChen immediately rushed over and took the helmet thrown by the person driving. He then jumped on.

“Son, what are you doing?!” Mother Wei had rushed out and was shouting at their backs.

Wei YiChen turned and shouted towards her: “Mom, I’ll call you.”

The three brothers cheered as they drove away. Wei YiChen adjusted his sitting posture and listened to the sound of the wind whistling past his ears.

“Brother Chen, where to?”

Wei YiChen thought about it for a moment before replying: “Go to Starlight Park first.”

Xu Lian and Zhang GuoEr decided to change their order today and ended up with two dishes and one soup. They had gone to the first floor of the shop to wait for their order, but was met with Wei YiChen instead of the takeaway boy.

When they heard the dull roar of a motorcycle, Xu Lian looked up and saw that it was Wei YiChen. Zhang GuoEr took out her notebook and wrote on Wei YiChen’s page: ‘Brother Chen has been coming a lot recently, and he always looks windswept.’

Xu Lian was also surprised to see him: “How come you’re here again? There’s no concert today?”

“Must there be a concert every time I see you? We can do something else.” Wei YiChen deliberately bent down, his face close to Xu Lian’s. Zhang GuoEr silently reduced her presence: “Should I leave first?”

Xu Lian: “Take him with you when you leave.”

Zhang GuoEr: “….”

She doesn’t dare.

Wei YiChen hooked his lips and stopped his joking: “I have to go abroad, it may take some time before I can come back.”

“Going abroad?” With just these two words, Xu Lian could already imagine blood splattering everywhere. “Who did you offend?”

Wei YiChen snapped: “Am I the kind of asshole that offends people then runs away?”

When Xu Lian didn’t answer, Wei YiChen reluctantly said: “My dad is forcing me to go on a blind date.”

Xu Lian was stunned, then said: “You’re pretty weak, eh?”

(T/N: When Wei YiChen’s brother described the person who trashed their bar, he called that person weak and incompetent (????). Here, Xu Lian used the same word to describe Wei YiChen. Pretty funny.)

Wei YiChen: “….”

He remained silent for two seconds before looking at Xu Lian enthusiastically: “Or, we can get married. Then I wouldn’t be forced to marry.”

Xu Lian replied with her heart still as stone: “I wish you a pleasant journey.”

Wei YiChen: “….”

On the side, Zhang GuoEr continued to write: ‘Brother Chen performed a sudden marriage proposal, and then was rejected by the Boss.’

“Don’t say anymore. I need to go catch a plane, but I’ll buy you food before I go.” Wei YiChen opened his arms and said to Xu Lian: “Parting hug?”

Xu Lian suddenly called out: “ah.”

Wei YiChen’s mood suddenly peaked, but Xu Lian’s next words brought it crashing down said: “We already ordered takeout.”

Wei YiChen: “…”

He picked up his helmet and left indignantly. Zhang GuoEr wrote ‘miserable’ in big letters and also circled the word.

Xiang ChangKong had just stopped his scooter when he saw Wei YiChen coming out of the store. He remembered Wei YiChen despite only passing him once, because his face was rather impressive.

Today Wei YiChen wasn’t wearing any makeup, his skin wasn’t as white as last time either. But his face didn’t look too good, with his eyebrows tight and his expression fierce and aggressive.

Xiang ChangKong definitely didn’t think about his relationship with Xu Lian as he approached the store door. As Wei YiChen left he pushed the door open and said: “Hello, your order is here.”

“Thank you, let me take it!” Zhang GuoEr rushed up and while taking the bags, took the opportunity to look at Xiang ChangKong’s empty hand. His finger bones were distinct, and each finger was long and beautiful. She silently thought that this takeaway brother currently had the advantage.

“Have a nice meal.” After Xiang ChangKong said this, he quickly left. Zhang GuoEr opened a lunchbox and said to Xu Lian: “That takeaway brother comes and goes so fast.”

Xu Lian: “He probably has a lot of meals to deliver every day. Everyone’s waiting for their lunch.”

Zhang GuoEr nodded: “It must be tough.”

Xu Lian: “Living is hard.”

Zhang GuoEr’s eyes lit up: “Can I write that down? I’m going to write that down!”

Xu Lian: “…”

Xiang ChangKong had the early shift today, so he finishes work at 8:00 p.m. He waited until 7:30 p.m. to find a bench in Starlight Park and have dinner. Coincidentally, he met the other takeaway brother again: Cheng Peng.

“Ah, Xiang…Xiang Chang Kong! I remember!” Cheng Peng stopped his scooter in front of him. Xiang ChangKong nodded a greeting: “Hello.”

“You’re pretty polite.” Cheng Peng sat down next to him with his own dinner and started chatting: “What are you eating? I just went to the snack street to buy my dinner. Oh here, I asked the boss to fry some rice noodles. Do you want to try some?”

“No thanks.”

Cheng Peng licked his lips: “You’re so polite.”

Xiang ChangKong: “….”

Cheng Peng picked up his fork, rolled some noodles and put it in his mouth: “This is really good, cheap but filling.” He looked at Xiang ChangKong eating quietly next to him and swallowed the food in his mouth: “Brother, I’ve always thought that you don’t look like a takeaway boy. You look unique and culturally attractive.”

When Xiang ChangKong’s face became a little unnatural, Cheng Peng joked: “Don’t be shy. Say I want to ask, do you have a girlfriend?”

Xiang ChangKong didn’t really want to answer, but Cheng Peng was staring at him so he had to answer: “No.”

“That’s so unscientific! A person like me got married, how can you not have a girlfriend?” Cheng Peng straightened into a matchmaker’s posture and cleared his throat: “Then, I’ll go back and ask my wife if she has any single friends. If there’s a nice one I’ll introduce you.”

“No thanks.”

“Don’t be polite brother!” Cheng Peng smiled and patted him on the shoulders, before looking up towards the dark sky: “You said the last time that you can’t see the stars here. But it’s called Starlight Park?”

“Well…the investors of this park were the same people who invested in Starlight Plaza. It probably came from there.”

“But there’s not stars in Starlight Plaza either.”

“Maybe they just liked the sound of it?”

The two of them continued to chat, until it was suddenly 8:00 p.m. Cheng Peng recieved a new order, so he said goodbye in a hurry. Xiang ChangKong went to his own scooter, ready to go home early.

From his current position, the fastest route home didn’t pass by Xu Lain’s store, but whether it was intentional or not, he still ended up in front of Xu Lian’s store.

Xu Lian hadn’t left yet.

The young girl who usually manned the register had already left, and only Xu Lian was left inside. The incandescent lamp above her head was the only light on, with every other light already off. She stood between the boundary of light and darkness, as if the world was centered around her, and as the shadows covered her figure, it looked like she had been forcibly cut in half.

This was an image Xiang ChangKong would remember for a long time, and many years later he would often dream of it.

He parked his scooter outside the store, stood outside for a moment, before pushing the door to Monster and entering.

Upon hearing the door chime, Xu Lian automatically looked up. Oh? Wasn’t this the ‘melancholy and deep-eyed’ takeaway boy? She tilted her head and with some doubt said: “Sorry, I didn’t order anything.”

In addition to Xiang ChangKong’s awkward nature, he also became a little embarrassed: “No, I wanted to buy something. Are you closing?”

Xu Lian was surprised, but turned on all the lights then walked up to him: “No, It doesn’t matter. What did you want to buy?”

Xiang ChangKong looked around. Xu Lian’s store had a wild name, but in order to match the items she was selling, the decorations were more hipster. In the corner of the store also featured real flowers, arranged to look like a mini garden. The flowers look fresh and lively, and you could tell that they’ve been carefully taken care of by the owner.

There was a variety of scented candles in many different styles, and each had their own unique characteristics. It was impossible for Xiang ChangKong to choose one immediately. He hurriedly said: “My sister’s birthday is coming soon and I wanted to get her something.”

Xu Lian nodded, then asked: “How old is your sister?”

“3rd year of Highschool.”

“Then she’ll be going to college soon.” Xu Lain thought about it, then recommended an aromatic card instead of a candle. She said: “How about this card? I really like this fragrance. It’s fresh, not too sweet, and has a calming effect. When I get stressed, I usually order this essential oil.”

Xiang ChangKong looked at the item in her hands. It was a clean and simple diamond-shaped gypsum tablet, decorated with a variety of dry flowers. Whether it was the color or design, the tablet looked exquisite. Looking up, Xiang ChangKong asked her, “Did you make this yourself?”

(T/N: tablet as in a board, bigger than a greeting card.)

“Nn, every product in this store is made by me. I imported these dried flowers from abroad. I’ve tried many kinds of dried flowers made in China, but they aren’t very strong. They would often fragment at the lightest touch, so it isn’t very convenient to use them to make shapes. The price of imported flowers is several times that of domestic flowers, so the price of this will be relatively more expensive. I don’t have any other gypsum tablets with other scents, so if you don’t like the fragrance of this one, you can choose an oil and drop some on it yourself. The fragrance won’t last as long though.”

Xiang ChangKong blinked, distracted. This was the first time he had heard Xu Lian talk so much. He had always thought that Xu Lian was the cool girl type that said very little. But it seems that as soon as the topic became about something she liked, she would turn into a chatterbox.

He smiled at her and said, “No, I really like this one. Can you wrap it for me?”

Finally back to Xiang ChangKong!