Awakening of Insects
Spring in the northern part of the city always arrives hesitantly and reservedly. The lively atmosphere of New Year's Eve seems like only yesterday, yet the cold wind outside the window still refuses to leave easily. However, the wind has gradually lost its biting chill and gained a more moist and soft feel.
Until a rumble of thunder before the Awakening of Insects rolls across the leaden sky, as if awakening the land and people's hearts that have been dormant all winter, the true, vibrant warmth finally sweeps in unstoppable.
The ice and snow melted at a visible speed, turning into trickles that seeped into the soil, washing away the gloom accumulated during winter. On the bare branches, tender green buds had appeared without anyone noticing, like shy seeds of hope.
The sunlight grew more generous each day, casting bright spots of light through the factory's tall glass windows onto the cold metal equipment and onto the shoulders of the workers who had shed their heavy winter clothes and appeared much lighter.
Qi Shuo stood at the workshop entrance, took off his mask, and took a deep breath of the air outside the window, which carried the fragrance of earth and faint scents of flowers. The sluggishness in his lungs, which had been permeated by the cold air of the entire winter, seemed to be washed away by this fresh air.
He squinted, looking at the fuzzy white buds blooming on an old magnolia tree outside the wall in the distance, which looked like tiny, warm lamps in the sunlight.
Spring has truly arrived.
This realization softened and loosened a corner of his heart. Even as he looked at the figure walking briskly towards him in the distance, a barely perceptible warmth crept into his eyes, softening their usual calm.
Tan Huaiyu practically ran over. He wasn't wearing a coat, just a light purple thin sweater with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his smooth forearms.
His bangs were slightly ruffled by the spring breeze, his face had a faint blush from exercise, and his eyes were strikingly bright, as if they were filled with the sunshine of spring. He wasn't carrying an insulated bag, but only a simple brown paper document bag.
"Qi Shuo!" He ran up to Qi Shuo, still a little out of breath, but his smile was dazzlingly bright. "Have you been waiting long?"
"No." Qi Shuo shook his head, his gaze falling on the wind-blown hair of the man, then moving to the collar that was slightly open from running—he remembered to button it up today, Qi Shuo thought.
He reached out and naturally smoothed a stray strand of hair that was sticking up in Tan Huaiyu's hair, his fingertips brushing against her warm earlobe. "Why run? There's no rush."
"Urgent!" Tan Huaiyu's eyes crinkled into crescents as she proudly handed him the file folder, "Look! It's approved!"
Qi Shuo took the document, opened the file bag, and pulled out a few pages. These were the final approval documents for several important qualifications of Tan Huaiyu Law Firm, stamped with a bright red official seal.
This means that his law firm can finally begin to take on some more core and complex business and get back on track.
"Congratulations." Qi Shuo looked at the document carefully, put it back, and handed it back to Tan Huaiyu. His voice was calm, but his tone was sincere.
“Not only that,” Tan Huaiyu took the document, holding it like a treasure, his face showing undisguised excitement and a hint of pride, “There’s also… the public interest consultation project I mentioned to you before about factory safety production liability disputes. The municipal trade union has officially sent a letter designating our law firm as the legal support unit. The first ones we’ve contacted are the factories in your industrial park.”
As he spoke, he stared intently at Qi Shuo, like a primary school student waiting for praise.
Qi Shuo was taken aback for a moment, then understood. Tan Huaiyu had vaguely mentioned before that he wanted to use his expertise to do something practical for working-class people like Qi Shuo, by providing basic legal aid and risk prevention advice.
Unexpectedly, he not only thought about it, but actually made it happen step by step, and the first landing point was right next to him.
This sentiment, along with the effort and energy it contained, transformed the warmth in Qi Shuo's heart into a more tangible comfort. Looking into Tan Huaiyu's bright, expectant eyes, the corners of his mouth curved upwards almost imperceptibly.
"Okay, I understand." He said, reaching out, this time not to fix his hair, but to bend his index finger and gently touch Tan Huaiyu's nose with his knuckle. The movement was as fast as a shadow, with a rare, almost intimate teasing tone, "Attorney Tan, you're amazing."
Tan Huaiyu was stunned by the sudden, light touch, and her face turned bright red, from her cheeks all the way down to her neck, even the tips of her ears were tinged with crimson.
He stood there dumbfounded, clutching the file bag, watching the fleeting yet genuine smile in Qi Shuo's eyes. His heart felt like it was being filled with the warm breeze of spring, swelling and almost floating away.
A gentle spring breeze swept across the space between the two, carrying the faint fragrance of magnolia blossoms from afar.
"Let's go," Qi Shuo said, turning around first and walking out of the factory area. His voice was particularly clear in the spring breeze. "Didn't we say we were going to celebrate? What do you want to eat?"
Tan Huaiyu then came to her senses and quickly jogged to catch up with him, her blush still lingering, but her smile was brighter than spring flowers: "Anything is fine! You decide!"
"Let's go to the usual place then," Qi Shuo said.
"good!"
The two walked slowly along the newly green tree-lined path outside the factory. Sunlight filtered through the newly unfurled leaves, casting dappled shadows. Workers walked by in twos and threes, casting kind, knowing smiles at them. The heavy, cold barriers of winter seemed to melt away with the snow and ice in this warm spring breeze.
In their usual window seat in the library, the sunlight was perfect. Qi Shuo was reading a new book on mechanical automation, while Tan Huaiyu was organizing the preliminary plan for that public welfare project.
Occasionally, Tan Huaiyu would ask Qi Shuo for his opinion on a simplified explanation of a legal clause. Qi Shuo would put down his book, listen attentively, and then offer his most intuitive understanding from a worker's perspective. The magnolias outside the window seemed to be blooming more profusely than a few days ago, their pure white petals swaying gently under the blue sky.
The thin ice on the lake in the park has long since melted away, and the rippling blue waves reflect the new buds of the weeping willows on the shore.
They strolled along the lake, not walking fast. Occasionally, children, undeterred by the cold, would run past, leaving behind a trail of clear laughter.
Tan Huaiyu pointed to a clump of newly sprouted purple wildflowers by the lake and said he didn't know their name, but they were very pretty. Qi Shuo glanced at them and said casually, "Viola yedoensis."
Tan Huaiyu smiled and praised him for his extensive knowledge. Qi Shuo didn't reply, but his gaze lingered for a moment longer on the unassuming yet vibrant cluster of wildflowers.
At Yucai Garden, the heating no longer needs to be turned up so high at night. Sometimes the window is opened a crack, letting in the night breeze carrying the fragrance of flowers. Qi Shuo's overnight stays have increased rather than decreased, and the sofa seems to have gotten used to the weight of its new owner.
Sometimes, they would be in the kitchen together, one washing vegetables and the other cooking. Although they were still mostly silent, their occasional conversations and glances were filled with the simple warmth of ordinary home life.
Spring is like the most skilled painter, using the gentlest and most delicate brushstrokes to gradually cover away the desolation and heaviness of winter.
And the tender buds that sprouted between Qi Shuo and Tan Huaiyu during the winter, cautiously exploring, getting closer, and warming each other, quietly unfolded and became more verdant and resilient under the daily nourishment of spring breeze and rain.
Spring is in full bloom. On the abandoned vacant lot behind the factory, unnamed wildflowers have already begun to bloom, and tender green grass shoots are breaking through the soil, their edges tinged with a fuzzy gold in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Qi Shuo had just finished a day's work, washed away the machine oil and fatigue, changed into clean casual clothes, and was walking slowly along the quiet path on the outskirts of the factory.
Tan Huaiyu followed half a step away from him, clutching a fluffy dandelion seed ball she had just picked from the roadside. Her fingers unconsciously twirled it, and a few strands of the white fluff drifted away in the wind, sticking to the cuff of his sweater.
His heart was beating faster than usual when he walked with Qi Shuo, and his palms were slightly sweaty. The spring breeze, carrying the fragrance of flowers and grass, should have been refreshing, but at this moment it only made his cheeks burn and his breathing tense.
They had walked in silence for some time. The setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them, overlapping and separating on the gravel road. It was quiet all around, with only the faint sound of machinery in the distance and the chirping of insects in the nearby grass.
"Qi Shuo." Tan Huaiyu finally mustered the courage to break the silence. His voice was a little dry, so he cleared his throat before speaking again, his voice trembling slightly with a sense of determination, "Spring... has arrived."
After he finished speaking, he turned his head and stared intently at Qi Shuo's profile, as if trying to read the answer from every subtle expression on his face. His amber eyes, reflecting the warm light of the setting sun, were also filled with undisguised, cautious anticipation and a hint of barely concealed unease.
Qi Shuo didn't stop walking, nor did he even turn around to look at him immediately. His gaze was fixed on the clouds on the distant horizon, dyed orange-pink by the setting sun, and his Adam's apple bobbed almost imperceptibly.
The spring breeze gently swayed the black wisps of hair on his forehead, revealing his smooth forehead and calm, serene eyes.
The few seconds of silence felt like an eternity to Tan Huaiyu. His fingers, gripping the hem of his clothes, tightened unconsciously, his knuckles turning slightly white.
"I know." Qi Shuo finally spoke, his voice low and calm, like the solid path beneath his feet, trodden by countless people.
He slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on Tan Huaiyu's face. In those deep eyes, there was no surprise, no hesitation, only a calm understanding and a very faint, almost imperceptible tenderness.
Tan Huaiyu's heart pounded even harder under his gaze, almost bursting out of his chest.
He opened his mouth, but all the words he had thought of, rehearsed countless times, and were even more tactful and roundabout, vanished in that instant.
Only the most direct, most sincere question, the one that had been buried deep in his heart for the longest time, remained. With a desperate courage, he blurted it out:
“So,” he took a deep breath, as if using all his strength, his voice not loud, but clear and distinct, carrying a do-or-die determination.
Will you be my boyfriend?
After asking the question, he immediately lowered his eyes, not daring to look into Qi Shuo's eyes again, and stared intently at his clenched, white fingertips, waiting for the final verdict.
The spring breeze continued to blow gently, and the fluffy seeds of dandelions drifted around him. All the sounds around him seemed to fade away, leaving only his own heart pounding like a drum and the earth-shattering question he had just asked, which reverberated and echoed in the air.
Time seemed to be stretched out and frozen.
Then he heard a very soft laugh, almost carried away by the wind.
It wasn't mockery, nor indifference, but rather a kind of... a sense of relief as if the dust had settled, and a smile carrying a certain weighty, warm emotion.
Tan Huaiyu suddenly raised his head.
The setting sun fell right behind Qi Shuo, gilding his tall figure with a warm golden edge. The expression on his face was gentler than Tan Huaiyu had ever seen before; the faint smile at the corner of his mouth had not yet completely faded, and his eyes seemed to be filled with fragments of the setting sun, shining astonishingly brightly.
He didn't answer immediately, but instead reached out and gently pulled the little boy, who was trembling slightly with nervousness and anticipation, into his arms, instead of grasping Tan Huaiyu's tightly clenched hand.
This embrace was different from the forceful confinement on a cold winter night, which carried a sense of despair and certainty, and also different from the weak and dependent warmth one seeks when sick.
It is light, with the warmth of spring sunshine and a solemn, accepting strength.
Qi Shuo gently rested his chin on the top of Tan Huaiyu's head, feeling his body stiffen for a moment and then relax completely, trembling slightly.
The spring breeze slipped through the gaps between their embrace, bringing the fragrance of soil and flowers.
Then, Tan Huaiyu heard Qi Shuo's voice ring out above his head, deep and calm, yet with a resolute clarity and a barely perceptible sigh of relief, gently tapping on his eardrums and landing heavily on his heart:
"good."
One word.
Simple, straightforward, without any embellishment or additional conditions.
It was like a thunderbolt, splitting open all the unease and anxiety in Tan Huaiyu's heart. It was also like the gentlest spring breeze, instantly smoothing out all the wrinkles of his restless heart.
Tan Huaiyu stood frozen in Qi Shuo's arms, his mind blank for several seconds. Then, an immense, unbelievable ecstasy swept over him like a tsunami, making his eyes burn and his nose sting.
He slowly and tentatively raised his arms and hugged Qi Shuo's waist, burying his face deep in Qi Shuo's neck, which was filled with the scent of sunshine and soap, greedily breathing in the breath that belonged to this man and was now finally completely open to him.
The setting sun cast their shadows on the ground, merging them so closely that they were indistinguishable from one another.
Spring has truly arrived.
With the courage to break through the soil, with the warmth of melting ice and snow, and with an answer that has been waited for too long and has finally been settled.
And the outline of what lies ahead is becoming clearer day by day, in this refreshing and vibrant spring breeze.
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