20
"Xia Xiang, go downstairs and buy some flowers. The one on the table needs replacing."
After tidying up the table, I sat down to wait for Hua Hong to serve the dishes. Pengpeng came over, took out twenty yuan from his wallet, and handed it to me.
"I'm not going, it's too far."
Hua Hong's situation is bothering me, and I don't want to do anything but lie here.
"What did you say? Did I hear that right? It's only a few steps from here to downstairs. You're so lazy! No way, go buy the flowers right now, or you won't get any food!"
"But I don't want to move."
"His leg is broken?"
"without."
"Then stand up and stop dawdling! Otherwise, I'll break your two useless legs and make braised pig's feet for dinner."
I looked at Pengpeng pitifully. Is this my wife? When she's angry, she's like my stepmother.
Hua Hong brought the hot and sour soup to the table, took off his apron, took the twenty yuan and said to me, "Isn't it boring to go alone? Come on, I'll go with you."
I glanced at Hua Hong, but still didn't want to move.
Pengpeng kicked me, grabbed my ear and said, "You're really putting on airs, needing someone to accompany you to buy flowers. Get up right now, don't keep Hua Hong waiting."
Reluctantly, I could only follow Hua Hong out the door.
Leaning against the wall, I watched Hua Hong standing at the elevator entrance waiting for it to arrive. I remembered Shi Ji's description of his first appearance: Chili was so refined back then, dressed impeccably, and his hair was the only black hair in the entire place. He also wore black-rimmed glasses; you could tell he was an honest man at first glance. He didn't understand any industry jargon, a bit silly, but also incredibly endearing. I really don't know how someone like him could know Xiao Wen…
Looking at Hua Hong in front of me, with his straight red hair, white crystal earrings, and eye-catching clothes, I really can't connect him with the refined man Shi Ji described.
The elevator doors opened with a "ding," and Hua Hong stepped inside. I followed. Standing inside, I asked Hua Hong, "Are you nearsighted?"
"Hmm, how did you know?"
"I guessed. Then why haven't I seen you wearing glasses?"
“That doesn’t look good on me. Xiaowen said it covers my eyes.”
After Hua Hong finished speaking, he seemed to suddenly remember something, glanced at me, and then awkwardly lowered his head.
"Hehe, why are we bringing him up again? Look at me... really."
"Once you've broken up, don't think about him anymore; it's pointless."
“I wasn’t thinking about him, it just slipped out without my realizing it.”
"Perhaps because it's too profound?"
"Maybe, after all, we've been together for a long time," Hua Hong said with a faint smile.
"I think... you'd look even more handsome with black hair. How about we go dye it back?"
Hua Hong looked up at me in surprise, "Dyed back?"
"Yes, I think black suits you better. What do you think?"
"I... don't care."
"Don't say it doesn't matter. Everyone has their preferences. Hair color is like clothing; there are always colors that suit you and colors that don't, colors you like and colors you don't like. How can you not care?"
"What do you want to say?" Hua Hong asked, looking directly at me.
"Black hair suits you."
How did you know?
"It's still just a guess."
Hua Hong chuckled, ran his fingers through his hair, and said, "What if it doesn't look as good as red when it comes back?"
"No way, you're naturally handsome, how could you not be good-looking?"
Hua Hong laughed heartily at my joke, but after a while his expression suddenly turned serious. He hesitated and reached out his hand to me, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
"Can I touch your hair? If it feels good, I'll get it dyed back. But you'll have to pay for the dyeing, since it was your suggestion."
"Hehe, okay, go ahead and touch it. I'm ready to pay for you. The RMB in my wallet is practically ready to jump out."
Hua Hong reached out and touched my hair. He first touched it cautiously, then looked at me and started to move more forcefully, eventually rubbing and stroking it roughly.
My scalp ached a little, but I still smiled easily at him. After listening to Shi Ji's phone call, I presumptuously assumed that Hua Hong liked him the way he was before. Red hair, earrings, eye-catching clothes—everything that didn't match his original image was something Xiao Wen had added to him according to her own preferences. He should get rid of these things, and it was time to do so.
Hua Hong finally let go of my hair, which must be very messy now. Luckily, my hair is very short, and it was back to normal after a few quick touches.
"How does it feel?"
Hua Hong nodded, but his gaze towards me was more complicated than before. Suddenly, he turned around and threw a punch at the thick steel wall.
"Xia Xiang, why do you have to reopen my wounds? What do you know? Why do you force me to confront a past I don't want to remember?"
"Black hair... suits me, I know, I know! But what's the point of dyeing it back? I can't go back to the past, I can never go back to those days. I'm twenty-five now, I'm not the completely naive person I used to be! What happened to me can't be erased just because I dye my hair! You want me to start over, huh? Hahahaha, is that even possible? I... can never... go back to the past."
Hua Hong's shoulders were trembling violently. I hadn't expected my words to elicit such a strong reaction from him. I wanted to see the simple, honest version of him from the past, but he had no desire to return to it at all.
The elevator doors opened, and I pulled Hua Hong, who had been looking down, to a corner where no one else was around.
I look forward to meeting the refined and gentle man that Shi Ji described.
Do you think we're familiar with each other?
Hua Hong thought for a moment and replied, "Not familiar with them."
"Yes, I think so too. We've only met a few times, and there's been a long gap between us. Do you think you really know me?"
Hua Hong thought for a moment and then replied, "I don't know you, but I know what kind of person you are."
"Then tell me, what kind of person am I?"
"You are a good person."
"Haha, that's a really broad scope. Do you know anything about my past? You know I've never done anything wrong?"
"...I don't know, but I think you would never do anything bad, you're not that kind of person."
Why are you so sure?
"I don't know, it's just a gut feeling."
"You trust your intuition a lot?"
"Yes, I'm usually right about things I've decided on."
"I also trust my intuition quite a bit, and generally, what I've decided on is right."
"What have you decided?" Hua Hong looked up and asked me.
You like the person you used to be.
Hua Hong's eyes widened instantly. He stared straight at me, his lips slightly parted.
“In my opinion, you’re great. Don’t say you can’t go back to the past. No one can go back. I asked you to dye your hair back not because I wanted you to change your ways, but because I wanted you to be yourself again. You’re a great young man, why would you want to change your ways? You’ve always done a good job, haven’t you? Everyone has to experience things in life, it’s normal, it’s not a big deal.”
Hua Hong shifted his gaze from my face, staring at the gray cement floor for a long time before saying softly, "You make it sound so easy. How many people these days can truly be themselves?"
I figured Hua Hong had come to a realization, so I smiled and said, "Pengpeng and I have always been ourselves. What do you think of our life?"
"fine."
"Since that's the case, why don't you join us? Hehe, let's hurry up and buy flowers, or I'll get scolded. How about I go with you to get your hair dyed after dinner?"
Hua Hong nodded, and although he hesitated, he still said what I wanted to hear, "It's actually quite good that Ran came back, at least my dad will find it pleasing to the eye. Hehe."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
