“Let go of my hand first.” Gu Wenshan said hoarsely: “I…”
“You still have not answered me?” Xiangzhi tilted her head, watching him stand up and walk toward the door, flustered.
“There must not be a next time. You are still young, sometimes you might act on impulse.”
“I was not impulsive?” Xiangzhi walked to the doorway and stood on tiptoe to personally put his cap back on him: “Were you impulsive?”
Gu Wenshan stepped forward to block her view from looking further down: “…Go back inside first. I am leaving.”
Xiangzhi swallowed hungrily, annoyed that he had gotten away again. Next time she absolutely would not let him run.
Gu Wenshan strode out quickly, then suddenly realized he had forgotten to tell her about the things Ms. Qin Zhixin had brought.
He walked back and forth twice at the door of the single-story house, as if what lived inside were not a little flower spirit but a fierce tiger or wolf, and in the end turned and left.
Next door, Wu Zhaodi secretly pulled the curtain shut and said to Wu Lili: “Did you see that? She has only been here a month and already stole Regiment Commander Gu’s soul away.”
Wu Lili and Wu Zhaodi were cousins. She had heard people say Regiment Commander Gu had flown into a rage in the flower house, and thought he and Xiangzhi might have quarreled. She came over and pressed her ear to the wall, but could not make out anything else clearly—only that Regiment Commander Gu’s tone speaking to Xiangzhi was gentler than she had ever heard, and beneath the soft, quiet words was a doting affection that was simply unbelievable.
Wu Lili urged Wu Zhaodi: “Hurry up and find out clearly what you have been asking around about. New Year is coming soon, and right after New Year comes the exam. Are you not taking the exam too? Otherwise, once your temporary contract expires, you will have to go back to your hometown.”
Wu Zhaodi’s family did not treat her well, favoring sons over daughters.
She had made up her mind with great difficulty to come and rely on Wu Lili. Seeing that Wu Lili, only four or five years younger than her, looked far younger in face and figure, others all assumed Wu Zhaodi was Wu Lili’s elder.
Wu Zhaodi’s first husband had died, and her family wanted to marry her off again. She said that no matter what, she would not step into that fire pit again.
“I asked someone from my hometown to look into it for me, it is guaranteed to be fine.”
Wu Zhaodi had no other connections at the military unit besides Wu Lili. She wanted to stay at the unit, but the path of a military marriage was already closed to her—she had to become a formal contract worker instead!
Wu Lili looked at her determination, the corner of her mouth curling into a smile. She looked over toward the wall, as if she could see Xiangzhi through it. She thought to herself: if I could not deal with Mu Ying, could I not deal with you?
Once she lost her job, unless she truly managed to marry Regiment Commander Gu, Xiangzhi would have to get lost!
And everyone in the whole military district knew that Regiment Commander Gu was wholeheartedly devoted to the revolution, having said many times that he had no intention of marrying, and would skip even organization-arranged blind dates whenever he could.
Once Xiangzhi left, given enough time he would come to his senses, and naturally he would grow distant from her.
Speaking of this, Wu Lili still felt resentful.
She had originally thought Mu Ying was competent enough to squeeze Xiangzhi out, and she could kill two birds with one stone. Who knew that after that day, Mu Ying never again showed up to deal with Xiangzhi.
Truly useless.
***
“Aiya~~”
Xiangzhi slumped limply in front of the table. On the little stove by her legs sat a roasted orange and a roasted sweet potato, and on the porcelain plate were honey twists, spiral candy, and malt sugar.
She sighed a long, mournful sigh, then picked up a piece of puffed rice candy and chewed on it.
Old Zhou came over carrying his big tea mug to check on the work, pulled out a handful of candied winter melon from his pocket and set it on the table, saying: “Look at the state of you—the moment your pay is spent, you go listless. Your spirit has been eaten away by capitalism!”
“The exam is in twenty more days,” Xiangzhi said feebly.
She did not like candied winter melon and flicked it away.
Old Zhou, having no other choice, put it back in his pocket to give to someone else later. It was something someone had given him as a gift anyway. He never used to want it, but now it all went to satisfy this picky little mouth.
Old Zhou pulled the practice questions he had written for her out of her drawer: “Go on, recite them.”
Xiangzhi said grief-stricken: “What am I even living for!!”
Old Zhou was alarmed: “You must learn to persevere in the face of setbacks! Little comrade, every unremarkable day is a day that tempers you. Hold on, and sooner or later you will be forged into steel!”
Xiangzhi sprawled back against the chair and said listlessly: “I cannot even become an immortal, and you want me to become steel? I am just a waste.”
Old Zhou laughed in exasperation, his eyes glancing toward the greenhouse, and said: “I am going out for a bit, I will be back later.”
Xiangzhi’s only pleasure was turning back into her original form to rest in the greenhouse. Seeing Old Zhou head out, she quickly found a corner and transformed back.
No sooner had she finished transforming than Old Zhou walked into the greenhouse!
He said, as if casually: “Where did I leave my keys?”
Xiangzhi, startled, curled up her petals, trembling with fear.
Old Zhou walked to the corner of the greenhouse and, sure enough, spotted the gardenia flower that never could hide itself. Its gap-toothed, lotus-like petals drooped, looking utterly dejected even as a flower.
Without a trace showing in his eyes, he smiled, scooped up a small shovelful of the new fertilizer with his broad hand, and muttered to himself: “This little flower is really growing beautifully. Let me give it some fertilizer, grow up well.”
Xiangzhi, terrified of being discovered in her true form, listened as Old Zhou not only failed to notice her but even wanted to fertilize her, and thought smugly: leaders only know how to hold their big tea mugs and make phone calls, they really do not understand the grassroots at all.
But the new fertilizer really was delicious, crisp and crunchy! Eating it felt more invigorating than drinking chicken blood!
She shivered all over!
A great, vigorous shiver!
Old Zhou left the greenhouse and looked up at the hazy sky.
No wonder she had been so gloomy—what little flower did not need sunlight? How could a child be happy without sun? These past few days, even with good things to eat, the fragrance would not come out. When she had first arrived, giving her a handful of sunflower seeds would have her secretly fragrant for half an hour.
Since he had said he was going out to run errands, he carried his big tea mug and wandered around to various departments, though the old commander had retired, his lingering authority remained.
When he returned to the flower house, he saw Xiangzhi in the office wiping his windows, her small hands moving so fast they left afterimages. On the desk sat a fragrant, sticky-sweet roasted sweet potato.
He chuckled, sat down by the desk to watch her bustling about, then thought for a moment, opened a drawer, found his wife’s photograph, and touched it gently. Such a dignified, gentle woman—so many years had passed, and he still missed her.
The flower house was a peaceful corner of the military district. It was already the twenty-eighth of the twelfth lunar month, with the thirtieth fast approaching.
The snow on the road had been cleared to the sides, the windows had been wiped, the paint had been freshly done, and lanterns and decorations hung everywhere.
In the bitter cold, the quartermaster led the cooking squad soldiers to slaughter the year’s pig first. After setting aside the meat for dumplings, the remaining military family members lined up to receive their share of pork and stuff sausages. The leftover pork offal would be braised later for the New Year’s Eve stew.
The military band was over there beating drums and gongs, and the cultural troupe was doing their final rehearsal in the auditorium.
Gu Wenshan and Commander Liu were inspecting work at the military district, after making their rounds it was lunchtime, and Commander Liu went back to eat, parting ways with Gu Wenshan.
Gu Wenshan thought he would go to the canteen to see what there was to eat, just to have a bite. His afternoon schedule was completely full, there was no time to waste.
Just as he was about to leave the auditorium, Mu Ying, who was rehearsing, spotted him through the window and hurriedly pulled a performance ticket out of her military coat pocket, running out after him.
“Regiment Commander Gu.” Mu Ying’s two braids were coiled at the back of her head, she had come out in such a hurry she had not put on her coat, her shirt tucked into her waistband showing off her slender waist.
The other sisters in the cultural troupe watched through the window, and someone asked Wu Lili: “Comrade Mu Ying is beautiful and has high standards. I wonder—will she land Regiment Commander Gu, or will he go on rejecting her as always?”
Wu Lili said with a smile that did not reach her eyes: “Look, Regiment Commander Gu will not even accept the ticket, he has definitely rejected her again. She has been rejected so many times already, I really feel embarrassed for her.”
Wu Lili looked at the well-matched heights of the man and woman outside the window. She had originally thought Mu Ying would be the one to make her envious and jealous, but it seemed she too was pressing her hot face to his cold backside [1]pressing her hot face to his cold backside (re lian tie leng pigu, 熱臉貼冷屁股) Idiom, to offer warmth/affection to someone who responds coldly, unrequited effort jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3398894_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3398894_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
If Regiment Commander Gu was a favored son of heaven, then Mu Ying could also be considered a favored daughter of heaven. Now that this favored daughter of heaven was getting the same treatment as Wu Lili, a girl from a small county town, she could not help feeling a certain satisfaction.
“Our performance this time is going to be so impressive—we rehearsed for three months, and even a study delegation from Beijing came to do a special report on it. If I were Mu Ying, I would use this chance to transfer back to Beijing.”
“She transferred here for Regiment Commander Gu’s sake, so it is not really a pity for her. The real pity is Lili. She used to be the lead dancer, and she practiced for this program for over six months!”
“Ah—really? Lili?”
The comrade who said this realized she had misspoken, and Wu Lili glared at her so hard her eyeballs nearly popped out.
The others had been fairly gossipy, but hearing this, they quickly shut their mouths and went back to practicing.
By the time Mu Ying came back, having been rejected by Gu Wenshan, her mood was not good, and she failed to notice the others on stage watching her.
Her technique was good, she practiced twice with everyone else, then went back to a corner, weighed down with worry, to stretch her legs.
After a while, as if nothing had happened, Wu Lili came over and said: “The auditorium is missing a few pots of flowers, shall we go fetch them together? It would do you good to get some air too.”
“All right,” Mu Ying said softly.
Elsewhere, Gu Wenshan would have completely forgotten about the invitation if he had not been asked.
He knew the little flower spirit liked lively things, and lately, because of exam stress, she had not gone out to play.
After eating, he found time to stop by the flower house, and seeing Xiangzhi working energetically, asked with a smile: “The unit issued two tickets for the Spring Festival performance—besides song and dance numbers, there are also comic dialogues and skits. Do you want to go see it?”
Xiangzhi threw down her rag and ran over, turning the front-row tickets over and over in her hands, beaming: “Of course I want to go! Whatever you do, do not lose them—I heard a lot of people do not even have tickets.”
Old Zhou said unhurriedly from behind: “Do not worry, even if others do not have any, you will. How could Little Gu ever shortchange you?”
Gu Wenshan pretended not to hear and said to Xiangzhi: “Then it is settled. I will take you out first to buy some New Year goods, then we will watch the performance in the afternoon, and in the evening we will all go to the canteen together to eat dumplings.”
“Okay.” Seeing he was about to hurry off again, Xiangzhi stopped him and said: “Why do you always rush off from me?”
Gu Wenshan paused slightly, then, half laughing and half exasperated, pressed down her outstretched arms and said: “I do not rush off every single time, do I?”
Xiangzhi walked a circle around him with her hands behind her back, then suddenly smiled: “Fine, then, see you the day after tomorrow. Remember to come pick me up early—I will eat breakfast with you before we go out.”
“All right.” Gu Wenshan nodded to Old Zhou and this time truly left.
The moment Gu Wenshan left the flower house, Wu Lili pulled Mu Ying out from around the corner.
“That scared me—I thought he had seen us.”
Wu Lili looked at Mu Ying’s pale face and said: “Are you all right? I always say no man is any good. He rejects you to your face, then turns around and invites Xiangzhi.”
Mu Ying stood rooted to the spot, watching Gu Wenshan’s retreating figure, able to make out a trace of happiness even from his back. She did not understand where she fell short of that country comrade.
“Come here, let me tell you something.”
Wu Lili pulled Mu Ying to a distant building, breathed out a puff of white air, and said, rubbing her hands together: “I have a way to make Xiangzhi leave this place. It just depends on whether you are willing to do it.”
Mu Ying lowered her eyes, her face ached from the wind, and her heart ached too.
“What is it?”
***
New Year’s Eve.
Gu Wenshan was on leave. Just as they had agreed, he stood outside Xiangzhi’s door early in the morning, looking sharp.
In the bitter cold he had not worn his uniform, but a Soviet-made gentleman’s wool overcoat, its hem falling slightly past the knee. His figure was strong and upright, his features handsome, his long, striking eyes drifting repeatedly toward the single-story house.
Passing workers were all drawn in by his extraordinary bearing. Such an outstanding man, actually courting a girl—who could withstand that?
Xiangzhi, her floral-print padded jacket buttoned only halfway, leaned against the window and saw him arrive, she wanted to rush outside, but Gu Wenshan stopped her: “Get dressed properly before you come out, there is no rush!”
“Oh.” The little flower spirit had thought last night about going out to play, and going out with Gu Wenshan no less, and had tossed and turned in excitement, unable to sleep well. The moment she opened her eyes upon waking, Gu Wenshan was already standing at her door, and she nearly wanted to bloom right then and there for him to see.
Gu Wenshan’s jeep was parked on the side road. Seeing Xiangzhi obediently getting dressed, he picked up the big broom by the road and swept the snow away from her doorway.
When Xiangzhi came out, he glanced first at her shoelaces.
Good—tied neat and proper.
He put down the broom, raised his eyes to meet Xiangzhi’s smiling ones, coughed to cover himself, and pulled a new pair of gloves from his pocket to give her: “Put these on.”
He knew the little spirit was especially afraid of the cold.
Xiangzhi put on the thick gloves and followed close behind him toward the car, like a little tail: “Are we going to eat?”
Gu Wenshan opened the passenger door and said: “We are going to Moon Tower to eat soup dumplings.”
As the name suggested, they were buns with soup inside.
How wonderful.
Xiangzhi said happily: “That would be too much trouble for you.”
Gu Wenshan said: “Then will you treat me instead?”
Xiangzhi’s little face fell, she looked left and right and said: “Where did you hide my petals? Is not that many petals worth more than two soup dumplings? Look how stingy you are.”
Hey now.
Gu Wenshan laughed: “Say one word to you, and you talk back with ten.”
Xiangzhi leaned back comfortably and said: “Driver, let us go.”
Gu Wenshan had no intention of ever giving her petals back anyway, he had hidden them somewhere good, and would not tell anyone. Xiangzhi knew she was not getting them back, and figuring more would grow anyway, let it go.
Everyone loses money in some deal or other, sigh.
Moon Tower was an old, established restaurant that once served fine cuisine to high officials and nobles. Later, Yuan Shikai decided the soup dumplings here were the finest, even better than the First House of Kaifeng, and wrote out the seven characters for “The Number One Soup Dumplings Under Heaven,” turning the restaurant into a bun shop by sheer force of reputation.
Later the revolution came, and a bun shop it remained. The waiters and shopkeepers became ordinary people earning work points, but the craft had not changed.
Following Gu Wenshan’s instructions, Xiangzhi put vinegar and shredded ginger in her dipping saucer, used a spoon to hold the soup dumpling, poked a hole in it, sipped the delicious broth inside first, then dipped it in the ginger vinegar to eat.
“Delicious!” Xiangzhi ate three in a row without getting her fill, saying with lingering longing: “It would be even better with a bit more sesame oil.”
What kind of obsession was this?
Gu Wenshan pushed the braised beef toward her: “Try this.”
The little flower spirit had never eaten braised beef like this before. In Yanxia Village, even getting a bit of cured meat was hard-won, and it was always cut into tiny, fine bits that she could not even fight her way to get.
The large slices of braised beef, when picked up, showed translucent tendons that shattered like snowflakes when bitten. The beef was chewy, the tendon melted in the mouth, the seasoning just right throughout. Paired with the soup dumplings, it was truly exquisite.
After finishing, Xiangzhi wiped her little mouth and said again: “It would be even better with a bit more sesame—”
Gu Wenshan put another chopstick-full of beef in her dish and said: “That would be too much then.”
“It would not be too much at all.” Xiangzhi said this while quickly chewing away—it really was too delicious. Her mouth was full of the fragrance of beef. What a heavenly life this was.
What kind of heavenly life was it? Meat coupons finally in hand, prices doubled.
She ate until she was completely full, but the remaining six dumplings and two ounces of beef were not wasted either—once she had eaten her fill, Gu Wenshan finished off the rest himself.
Coming out of Moon Tower, they turned and walked over to the department store.
Gu Wenshan remembered Xiangzhi did not have many clothes, so today he had brought plenty of cloth coupons and money, and led her to a counter where he had connections, letting her pick out new clothes.
The little flower spirit naturally loved looking pretty.
She tried on one piece after another, and whenever she got too warm, she would change out of the one underneath.
Whenever Gu Wenshan saw something suitable, he simply had the salesclerk write it on the ticket. He himself pulled out a thick stack of cloth coupons and set them aside, resting his elbow on the counter, patiently waiting. The customers nearby clicked their tongues in amazement, and some of the female comrades cast envious glances at Xiangzhi.
Gu Wenshan had taken off his military uniform, and looked all the more dashing and unrestrained for it, his eyes watching Xiangzhi with a hint of a smile, looking every bit the elegant young master of a great household.
“Your husband is far too generous with you!” Seeing such lavish spending from a handsome young man, the salesclerks behind the counter were utterly envious of Xiangzhi.
They knew there was a military unit not far from the city center, they did not need to look closely—just from Gu Wenshan’s short haircut and sharp bearing, they could tell he was certainly a senior officer.
These days, who bought so many new clothes at once like this, let alone a whole new outfit from head to toe? People these days made do with wearing things three years new, three years old, and three more years patched and mended. Who could expect to wear new clothes every year?
Some men, when courting, were stingy to the point of pettiness, afraid the woman might take advantage of them even slightly before marriage. Nothing like this officer here, who was willing to buy any good clothing for his family without hesitation.
Xiangzhi wore a finished pink-and-white wool sweater, her graceful neck exposed. The store was well heated, and she walked over to Gu Wenshan in the sweater and turned a circle in front of him: “Does it look good?”
She had not caught the word “family” the salesclerk had used, but Gu Wenshan had. For some inexplicable reason, he did not correct it, letting the misunderstanding stand.
The older salesclerk behind the counter laughed and said: “How could it not look good? A waist is a waist, hips are hips—if she wore our double-layer cotton leather shoes too, she would look even prettier.”
“Does it look good? Tell me quickly!” Xiangzhi’s little face was flushed pink, still waiting for his answer.
Gu Wenshan quickly averted his eyes from her full, round chest and said, not looking directly at her: “It looks good. We will take the sweater too….Do you have one size larger?”
Xiangzhi tugged at the hem and looked it over, the pure white wool sweater wrapped her upper body perfectly, the shoulders and sleeves fitting well, her chest line proud as well, and she said quietly: “I do not think it is small.”
Gu Wenshan’s face grew hot and said: “Then this one it is.”
The two salesclerks off to the side were secretly delighted, anyone could tell at a glance that this couple had only just gotten together, still awkward about some things.
Hearing that Gu Wenshan wanted to buy the sweater, there was no need to warn him about the steep price—his wallet was clearly thick enough. They sold high-end clothing, the goods were pricey, and while the styles were fashionable, they were not really suited to ordinary people.
The counters selling cheap goods were packed with people, while their own counter had hardly anyone—precisely because everything was so expensive, much of it high-end merchandise shipped in from Shanghai.
In truth, all women loved fashionable styles, but who would be willing to spend the money and coupons for three or five outfits on just one piece of clothing?
A generous customer like this young couple came along rarely, once a year if that, so the salesclerks seized the chance to promote their wares: “Our leather shoes are all top-grain calfskin, they will not chafe your feet at all, so comfortable.”
Sure enough, Gu Wenshan said: “Comrade, then find her a well-fitting pair of leather shoes too. Nothing with a heel—too easy to twist an ankle.”
“Right away! I will make sure to bring you new stock.”
Seeing the counter clerk go off to find shoes, Xiangzhi leaned close to his ear and whispered: “I heard that.”
Gu Wenshan, feeling the warm breath against his ear, said in a low voice: “Heard what?”
“I heard her say I was your family,” Xiangzhi said, a mysterious excitement in her voice: “She thinks we have already done everything.”
Gu Wenshan wanted to cover that little mouth again.
That little mouth, left alone, was nothing but trouble.
He reached up and tugged at his collar, undoing the top button, which had been pressing painfully against his throat.
Gu Wenshan looked at the little flower spirit who had secretly reached for his waist, wanting a hug, and said helplessly: “Talking so carelessly like that is not good for you.”
The little flower spirit said matter-of-factly: “Being with you is good for me.”
“Well, of course it is! A married couple ought to treat each other well.” The salesclerk, having only half-heard, came back in one breath carrying three pairs of leather shoes, laid down some cardboard on the floor, and had Xiangzhi try them on.
Cotton shoes were not easy to put on or take off, so without a word Gu Wenshan crouched down and helped fit them onto her feet. Family it was, then—there was no one they knew at the department store anyway, so he would just get her changed quickly and they would move on elsewhere.
“You two try them on, I will be right back.”
“Okay.” Xiangzhi held onto Gu Wenshan’s shoulder, wobbling as she tried on the shoes.
Seeing she could not stand steady, Gu Wenshan raised his arm to steady her. Xiangzhi’s small hand touched his forearm, secretly giving it a pinch, and said quietly: “Hey, how did you grow like this?”
Gu Wenshan did not even look up, gripping the shoelaces: “Grow like what?”
Xiangzhi licked her lips hungrily and said: “Your arms are thick, your legs are thick, even the tendons in your neck are thick—are you thick everywhere?”
Gu Wenshan nearly snapped the shoelace in half. He raised his eyes, sweeping up from her slender calves, past her small, supple waist, along the curve that could be held in two cupped hands, up to Xiangzhi’s innocent, almond-shaped eyes. He truly wanted to tease her until she cried.
Gu Wenshan clenched his back teeth, finished tying the laces, and stood up to step aside.
Gu Wenshan said: “Stand up straight and walk a bit.”
Seeing his stiff expression, Xiangzhi did not know where she had gone wrong—though perhaps she had hit the mark after all.
She smiled mischievously, obediently stepped along the cardboard, swaying her hips and waist, walking more gracefully than any model, just like an alluring little cat.
She was about to say something more, but Gu Wenshan already had a plan ready and cut her off: “One, close your mouth. Two, no touching with your hands or feet.”
Xiangzhi said “Oh” and lowered her head to study her new leather shoes.
In truth, she did not need three pairs of cotton leather shoes—she already had two. The pair she had left behind at Gu Wenshan’s building had been retrieved and dried by him and given back to her.
“I want the zippered ones.” Xiangzhi disliked tying shoelaces, and Gu Wenshan could not tie them for her every single day. Zippered ones were good for being lazy.
She did not realize the zippered pair cost twice as much as the lace-up ones, the salesclerk was only too happy to sell them, thinking this young girl really knew quality goods. Gu Wenshan did not bother to point it out.
Gu Wenshan bought Xiangzhi three sets of ready-made clothes, including two wool sweaters and two pairs of wool trousers, plus a pair of zippered cotton leather shoes and a pair of small lambskin T-strap single shoes, set aside to wear once spring came.
“Wait here for me, I will go bring the car around. Do not respond to anyone who talks to you.”
Gu Wenshan found a sheltered spot by the side entrance and set the things down at Xiangzhi’s feet.
They had bought so much, bags large and small, that it was inconvenient to squeeze out through the main entrance.
Gu Wenshan walked a few steps, glanced back, and saw Xiangzhi standing obediently in place chewing on a candied hawthorn skewer, then strode off toward the parking area.
In this day and age, anyone who could drive out drew plenty of attention, and with Gu Wenshan being so handsome besides, driving a compact jeep no less, people could not help but wonder what kind of important person he was.
Gu Wenshan drove around to the side of the department store, and the moment he parked, he spotted two shabby-looking young men staring fixedly at Xiangzhi nearby.
Xiangzhi was biting into her candied hawthorn, her little mouth bright red. She wore her newly bought wool-lined overcoat, her small waist cinched tight and striking. Her leather shoes were polished to a shine, stylish and fashionable. She looked like a female student back from studying in the Soviet Union.
Seeing Gu Wenshan’s car arrive, the corners of her mouth curved up in a smile, an unconscious charm in her eyes.
Amid the bitter cold, she was like a flower in full bloom, so beautiful that the whole street seemed to light up because of her.
Not far from her, the two young men, unable to resist such “temptation,” saw no one else on the road and walked over, one after the other.
One of them, short and stocky, spoke up first: “Hey, girl, want to go grab a meal with us brothers?”
The two of them were quite ugly. Xiangzhi glanced at them, ignored them, and turned her head to look elsewhere.
“So high and mighty? Are you mute?”
The tall, thin one beside him reached out with ill intent, trying to grab hold of Xiangzhi: “Big brother will treat you to boiled mutton and some bee—”
“Ah!!” Before he could finish, a foot slammed into him. The tall, thin one clutched his stomach and fell off the step, sliding several meters across the ground before hitting a telephone pole and stopping.
Before he could painfully struggle up, the short one came rolling countless times and landed beside him, sprawled face-down on the ground, covered in dirt: “Ah… it hurts, it hurts so much.”
“Picking a fight with the wrong man [2]picking a fight with the wrong man (taisui tou shang dong tu, 太歲頭上動土) Idiom, to provoke someone powerful or dangerous, courting disaster (lit. “digging on the head of the Tai Sui … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3398894_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3398894_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });)!” The tall, thin one grabbed a red brick off the ground to swing at Gu Wenshan, but before he could even raise his arm, his body went light as he was grabbed by the wrist with one hand and flung through the air!
“Aaaah—”
The short one secretly pulled out a knife from his pocket, but before he could draw it, a kick to the face sent him toppling backward with a crash into a row of bicycles, blood immediately gushing from his nose.
Not far away, the patrol team on duty blew their whistles and hurried over. Gu Wenshan lowered his head and wiped the blood off the sole of his shoe on the step, suppressing the storm brewing in his eyes.
“Ow, spare us, spare us!” The two men, realizing they had run into someone not to be trifled with, tried to help each other up, but both their legs had gone weak, and they simply could not stand.
Gu Wenshan wiped away the dirty blood, walked over to Xiangzhi, and, all trace of his earlier ferocity gone, said gently: “Were you scared?”
Xiangzhi had seen him covered in blood before, this time it was just someone else’s blood, no less.
Xiangzhi said softly: “Not scared. They deserved the beating.”
Gu Wenshan had truly worried she might be frightened of him because of this, and hearing her words, let out a breath of relief.
The two hoodlums were quickly taken away by the patrolling police, and Xiangzhi and Gu Wenshan went along to the police station together.
The officer on duty recorded their identities, and upon seeing Gu Wenshan’s military officer’s ID, the chief himself came over to personally take their statement before letting them go.
As for the two hoodlums who had tried to hit on Xiangzhi and gotten physical when rejected, they would be dealt with severely by year’s end.
Coming out of the police station, Xiangzhi looked at Gu Wenshan with eyes full of sparkling stars, secretly glad she had not tried forcing herself on him like some overbearing flower—otherwise she would only have ended up as fertilizer.
In the past, whenever she encountered someone with bad intentions, Xiangzhi had always had to handle it herself. Today, with Gu Wenshan standing in front of her, she felt her heart pounding erratically several times. She touched her chest, unable to figure out quite why.
The moment Gu Wenshan got in the car, Xiangzhi grabbed his hand and tried to press it to her chest, saying in a fluster: “Look, look—is there something wrong with my heart? Watching you fight just now, why is it beating so hard?”
Gu Wenshan glanced at her round, full chest and quickly withdrew his hand, and, still not at ease, yanked her coat collar tightly closed, saying gravely: “Do not let other male comrades touch, touch you there so casually.”
Xiangzhi bit her lower lip, noticing his ears had turned red again.
Not understanding, she said: “You are not just anyone. If you want to touch me, would I not let you? Besides, I do not feel well, so I wanted you to help me rub it—that does not count as casual.”
Her twisted logic, spoken so righteously, left Gu Wenshan’s hands and feet stiff as he drove the car back.
After dropping off their things and watching the performance, he barely remembered how he had eaten the dumplings or made it back to his dormitory.
Just before bed, Gu Wenshan took out the pastries meant for Stone Zhibing, and accidentally pulled out along with them a fragrant, soft little white undershirt.
It was the one Xiangzhi had been wearing next to her skin that morning, while trying on clothes, she had accidentally taken it off along with the rest. Finding it too much trouble to put back on, she had secretly stuffed it into the bag, only to forget to take it back when she got home.
Gu Wenshan froze completely. He stood up and took a few stiff, mismatched steps, then turned and saw the fragrant little undershirt lying on the bed. He hurried over, meaning to stuff it back into the bag.
But if he stuffed it in like that, what if it got the undershirt dirty?
He held the little undershirt in his grip, feeling his soul sway, the whole of him seemed pulled away by the little undershirt.
By the time he came to his senses, the hand holding the undershirt was already raised in front of his face. He quickly pinned his right wrist down against the pillow: “Gu Wenshan, sniffing someone’s undershirt—do you have no shame?”
Even as he said this, the soul-stirring little undershirt gave off its soul-stirring sweet fragrance. He restrained the urge to smell it, stuffed the little undershirt under his pillow, and planned to give it back to Xiangzhi tomorrow.
But that night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
The fragrance of the little undershirt seeped through the pillow, just like Xiangzhi’s own scent, drifting and filling the whole room, brazenly entering through his breath, spreading all the way to the depths of his soul.
Deep in the night.
Gu Wenshan stared vacantly at the bunk above him, the dream from moments ago feeling as though it had been real.
It was a dream he had brought upon himself. The Xiangzhi in the dream was just as fragrant and soft and moist as he had imagined. He woke drenched in sweat, washed the sheets, and could not fall back asleep.
Yes. This gentleman—he did not want to be one anymore.
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