Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 40

The weather was clear the next day.

Professor Fu had to rush back to school early in the morning because he had elective classes to teach on Sunday afternoon.

Before leaving, Lin Chen was once again pulled by him to listen to his preaching for half a day. In the end, Lin Chen forced him out of the car and sent him on his way to the station.

“Shixiong, see you the day after tomorrow!” Across the entryway, Fu Hao waved goodbye to them.

Lin Chen symbolically waved his hand as Fu Hao reluctantly walked into the station.

“You have a pretty good relationship,” Xing Conglian, who was by Lin Chen’s side, said.

“Well, I have known him for many years.” Lin Chen and Xing Conglian walked back to the car as they talked.

“So are you going to Yongchuan for a reunion the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, it’s the old man’s birthday.”

“That old man must be very interesting to teach both you and Fu Hao.” Xing Conglian opened the car door.

“That’s right.” Lin Chen got in. “That old man is really interesting.”

Without returning to Yanjia Lane or the police station, Xing Conglian parked his car on a street full of flower stalls.

The car window was half open, allowing the gentle fragrance of flowers to waft in. Lin Chen was in a daze looking at the endless flower stalls on both sides of the street and the passersby who were laughing and chattering.

Xing Conglian got out naturally and opened the door for him. He put his hand on the roof and said with a smile, “Sir, please get out of the car.”

Although it was hard to say he had never seen the world, Lin Chen had indeed never entered a flower shop, let alone come to a street full of flowers to personally select some that were in season that were suitable for planting or decorating his home, but Xing Conglian seemed to be a veteran at this.

Lin Chen followed him, listened to him greet the owner of the flower stall and say some terms that he hardly understood. Not long after, he was carrying several plastic bags in his hand, which contained newly bought seedlings that were supposedly daisies and geraniums.

“Why did you think about buying flowers?”

“To save Professor Fu from saying that we have nothing but bare walls in our house*,” Xing Conglian said as he picked up half a bunch of lilies and gypsophila. Lin Chen naturally took the bag in his left hand so he could pay for them.

*(家徒四壁) Idiom referring to a family that’s very poor and has nothing except walls in their home.

Hearing what Xing Conglian said, Lin Chen was a little dumbfounded. The walls of one’s home should be decorated with flowers, but there was a strange sense of putting the cart before the horse*. “It’s a very interesting hobby.” He could only reply as so.

*Idiom referring to doing something contrary to the natural or normal effective sequence of events. || In this context, he’s basically thinking that before buying flowers to decorate the home, they should probably buy other necessities like nicer furniture and such.

“Of course.” The mixed-blood young man’s face was covered by flowers, showing off his handsome side and beautiful eyes. “My mother taught me that if boys don’t understand flowers, they will definitely not be able to trick their wives into going to their home in the future.”

Xing Conglian’s eyes were very green. The sycamore tree behind him had just sprouted new buds, and its branches were stretched towards the blue sky. Lin Chen’s heart trembled slightly. Although he knew it was just a joke, and it was very clear it had nothing to do with him, he couldn’t help, like most people, being easily moved by such sweet words. “Fortunately, you studied hard,” he said.

Among the happiest things in the world, it must include buying flowers. In a short time, their hands were full of flowers and plants, signifying their trip to the flower street was about to come to an end.

Xing Conglian looked in front of him and, as if remembering something, turned his head and said, “It’s almost time to go back.” As he spoke, he turned around quickly.

“Wait.” Lin Chen also seemed to think of something and stopped him. “I remember you said you set up a grave for me in the small cemetery at the end of the flower street. Can you take me to see it?”

The weather was good today. The river was also quiet and peaceful. In the distance, they could see the Taiqian Bridge.

Lin Chen stood in front of his tombstone and felt it was a strange experience. He was alive, yet he was now gazing at his tombstone.

The name on the tombstone was his, but other than that, there wasn’t even a birth or death date, or a photo. It gave off a weird feeling. It didn’t seem solemn enough, yet it was too solemn. After all, before this tombstone, he had only known Xing Conglian for a few days. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they met by chance. Wasn’t it too serious to buy land and erect a tombstone for a person that one had just met by chance?

Xing Conglian stood aside, a little embarrassed. “This, I forgot to ask the administrator to remove it.”

Hearing these words, Lin Chen came back to his senses. He half turned around, took out a flower bouquet from one of the bouquets Xing Conglian was holding, and placed it on his tombstone. “No, just leave it here.”

The lilies in front of the monument were still stained with dew. Xing Conglian smiled. “Don’t you think it’s unlucky?”

“Keep it. In case one day I go first, I can still use it.”

“Why do you have so little faith in life?” Xing Conglian sighed.

“The world is unpredictable,” Lin Chen said casually, then turned away indifferently.

“Have faith…” Xing Conglian put his hand on Lin Chen’s shoulder as he spoke.

“Is faith useful?”

“Yes. Even if you don’t ‘believe’ in your heart, you can ‘believe’ in me…”

Lin Chen froze when he heard these words. He looked at Xing Conglian’s smiling face and said lightly, “Okay.”

——

In the afternoon, the sky was warm.

Lin Chen was sitting on the balcony with the river view, reading a book. The tea in his cup was hot, and there was a small plate of cookies on the coffee table.

Xing Conglian rolled up his cuffs and was turning over a bare flower stand on the balcony.

The daily training of a policeman seemed a bit too good. Captain Xing was in excessively good shape, possessing wide shoulders and a narrow waist. There was not an ounce of fat on his body, as Lin Chen could vaguely see the strong muscles that were covered under the tight fabric of his shirt.

The sun was a bit too dazzling, so Lin Chen put down his book and watched intently as Xing Conglian planted flowers.

He had to say that for people with mixed blood, even if they couldn’t cook, they had to be able to grow flowers and do it well.

Xing Conglian had four different kinds of soil in his hands. Lin Chen could see that he was skillful at mixing the soil in the correct proportion, arranging the flowers, and watering. He was well organized and skilled, like a professional gardener. When the sun fell on him, the light reflected on his face. With the white shirt on, it only made his face more handsome and gave him a calm and warm look.

Lin Chen suddenly remembered the question he answered wrong: Have you ever liked anyone?

Xing Conglian put the pots of daisies in the flower stand, clapped his hands, and suddenly heard a light tune coming from his side.

He turned his head and saw Lin Chen leaning lazily in the rattan chair, holding a cup of water in one hand and a book in the other, and seemed to be humming something unconsciously.

The tone was light and a bit sweet, which shocked Xing Conglian as he didn’t expect Lin Chen to actually hum such a tune.

“What’s that song?” Xing Conglian turned his head and asked amusingly.

Lin Chen was taken aback for a moment, and then smiled. “I don’t remember. It seems to be related to planting flowers, right?”

“It sounds pretty good.” Xing Conglian took out a cigarette and put it in his hand. As if he suddenly remembered something, he stopped and looked at Lin Chen. “You’re going to Yongchuan alone the day after tomorrow—will you be alright?”

“What could go wrong?”

Xing Conglian examined Lin Chen several times from head to toe—from the soft slippers on the other’s feet to the drowsy eyes. He then said, “I always feel that it’s impossible to not have an accident when you go out with a physique like yours.”

Lin Chen sighed helplessly, as if he didn’t know how to respond to this.

“You studied at Yongchuan University?” Xing Conglian sat down opposite him and talked casually.

“That’s right.”

“Sure enough, if it’s Yongchuan University, it means you’re a top student.”

As a national cultural center, Yongchuan had many universities, with Yongchuan University being the oldest private university in China. After several capital injections and the efforts of several generations, it was now one of the top three institutions of higher learning in China. If Lin Chen had graduated from an ace major at Yongchuan University, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he was a top student.

“I’m just better at studying,” Lin Chen replied solemnly.

Xing Conglian had long been accustomed to his straightforward style, so he didn’t feel that Lin Chen was boasting. In fact, him being so frank was quite cute.

He also sat in a rattan chair. He lifted up the teapot, refilled half a glass of water, took a sip, then put it down. “I remember, isn’t Yongchuan in the territory of the Chen family?”

Hearing this, Lin Chen was startled.

Xing Conglian was sitting opposite him, upright. His actions of pouring tea and refilling water weren’t contrived, but had a rather dashing and peaceful motion. Lin Chen watched as Xing Conglian poured water, and then realized that the reason Xing Conglian brought up his trip to Yongchuan turned out to be because of the Chen family.

In Feng Peilin’s case, the paranoid patriarch of the Chen family had specially sent his butler to ensure that he would be unemployed again. Lin Chen didn’t know where Xing Conglian had gotten this information about this family, but he seemed to know a lot.

“It’s just a teacher’s birthday and a class reunion.”

When Xing Conglian heard the words “reunion”, he couldn’t help frowning. “The Chen family seems to have some stakes in Yongchuan University.”

This sentence was implying, even if it was for a meal, he shouldn’t go back to school on a whim.

“I’m just going to have a meal and stay overnight. It shouldn’t be a big problem, right?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, call me if something happens.”

“I hope that I won’t have to.”

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