Flower seeds
Chen Bozhou's injuries healed quickly under Yunwu's meticulous care. Within seven or eight days, the wound had scabbed over, leaving only a pale pink mark, and his arm could move freely again.
It happened to be another market day in the town and the weather was fine. Chen Bozhou remembered his previous promise to buy cloth for Yunwu and Grandma Yun to make summer clothes.
That morning, he arrived at the Yun family early with an empty bamboo basket in his arm, ready to carry the purchased items.
Yunwu had just finished feeding the chickens in the corner of the yard. Seeing him standing in the morning light with vigor and energy, his arms moving swiftly, she felt a sense of relief. However, her face remained expressionless. She simply asked, "You've only just recovered from your injury. Why are you in such a hurry to go to town?"
"Go early and come back early, it won't be a problem." Chen Bozhou grinned, walked forward and naturally took the empty food bowl from his hand and put it away. "Besides, I promised to make new clothes for you, I can't go back on my word. The weather is getting hotter, and the one you're wearing has turned white from washing."
His eyes fell on Yunwu's coarse cloth clothes, which were indeed old, with an undisguised heartache.
Yunwu felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by him. She turned slightly to the side and whispered, "It's still wearable."
"If I say no, then no." Chen Bozhou was extremely persistent on this matter. His tone was a bit overbearing and unquestionable, but his eyes were gentle. "Let's go. I just went to see grandma. She looks fine. She told us to go early and come back early."
Seeing him like this, Yunwu said nothing more. She went back to the house silently and said something to her grandmother, then followed Chen Bozhou out the door.
The road to town, a familiar one they'd walked countless times, was familiar to them. But this time, the atmosphere felt a little different. After the life-or-death ordeal a few days earlier and their frank conversation late that night, some invisible barrier seemed to have completely melted away.
Chen Bozhou was still talkative, pointing at the wild flowers and grasses on the roadside and talking non-stop. The clouds and mist were still quiet, but would occasionally respond with a sound or two. Their eyes were no longer always looking into the distance, but would from time to time fall on Shen Bozhou's spirited profile, with a gentleness that they themselves were not aware of.
Arriving in town, it was still bustling with activity. Chen Bozhou led Yunwu to the cloth shop with familiarity. He smiled and responded to every greeting from familiar vendors along the way, even taking the initiative to introduce Yunwu to him. His attitude was calm and generous, as if they were meant to be walking side by side.
The shop's proprietress was a sharp-eyed person. Seeing Chen Bozhou bring a handsome young man in, and seeing how Chen Bozhou treated the young man with such care, always asking for his opinion before inquiring about the color of the fabric, she immediately understood what was going on. She didn't ask any more questions, but enthusiastically recommended light, thin fabrics suitable for summer.
"How about this moon-white fine gauze?" Chen Bozhou pointed at a piece of cloth and turned to ask Yunwu, "It's breathable and cool, and it suits you well."
Yunwu looked at the fabric. The texture was indeed very good, and the color was plain. However, he noticed the high price and shook his head slightly. "It's too expensive. Ordinary cotton will be fine."
"No," Chen Bozhou rejected the idea without hesitation and said directly to the proprietress, "Take this one and make him a suit. Pick out another navy blue, thicker one for grandma at home." He looked at Yunwu again and spoke in a slower tone, "Grandma is old, and she won't catch a cold if she wears something thicker."
He was so thoughtful, even thinking of his grandmother's needs, that Yunwu couldn't find any reason to refute him and could only let him go. However, when the boss lady took the measurements, he frowned slightly and whispered, "You don't need to make a whole set, just enough for one shirt."
Chen Bozhou pretended not to hear and said to the proprietress with a smile, "Please take my measurements."
After buying the cloth, Chen Bozhou was in a good mood. He took Yunwu for a stroll in the market and bought some daily necessities and food.
When passing a seed stall, Chen Bozhou suddenly stopped. There were all kinds of seeds on the stall, packed in small cloth bags with labels on them.
"Boss, do you have flower seeds?" Chen Bozhou leaned over and looked at the labels carefully.
"Yes, yes, yes!" The stall owner quickly pointed to a row of colorful cloth bags. "Here they are: Impatiens, Morning Glory, Jasmine... Which one would you like?"
Chen Bozhou looked carefully and finally pointed to a small light blue cloth bag: "This is the seeds of the evening primrose. Give me a bag."
Yunwu stood behind him, looking at him with some doubt. Chen Bozhou's family didn't seem to have the habit of tending to flowers and plants.
Chen Bozhou paid the money and carefully put the small bag of flower seeds into his arms. Then he turned around and smiled at Yunwu without explaining.
On the way back, the sun was rising higher. The two of them walked along the tree-lined path, with mottled light and shadows casting all over the ground.
Chen Bozhou looked at the thin back of Yunwu walking in front of him, suddenly took two quick steps, walked side by side with him, then took out the light blue cloth bag from his arms and handed it to him.
"For you." His voice was smiling and his eyes were shining.
Yunwu was stunned for a moment, then took the bag, feeling it flutter in his hands. He untied the string, revealing dozens of small, flat, dark brown seeds. "Evening Bloom?" He looked up at Chen Bozhou, puzzled. "Why did you buy this?"
Chen Bozhou looked at his puzzled expression, his smile deepened, his eyes falling gently on his face: "Remember you said before that you like plants because they never lie, and you get as much in return as you take care of them."
Yunwu nodded, not understanding why he suddenly brought this up.
"This evening primrose," Chen Bozhou continued, his tone becoming more serious. "It's closed during the day, looking ordinary, even a little inconspicuous. But in the evening, it quietly opens. Although the flowers are not large, the color is simple and elegant, and the fragrance is subtle and can last until late at night."
He paused, his eyes locked tightly on Yunwu's, his voice low and clear: "I think it looks a lot like you."
Yunwu's heart skipped a beat, and her hand holding the bag of flower seeds tightened slightly.
"Not ostentatious, not noisy, just quietly blooming its unique brilliance in its own time." Chen Bozhou spoke word by word, each word seeming to strike at Yunwu's heart. "I want to plant these seeds with you, watch them break through the soil, grow leaves, and then one evening, watch them bloom for you."
His words were not flowery, but they were more touching than any love talk. He was telling Yunwu in his own way that he understood his restraint, appreciated his calmness, and cherished all his unknown beauty.
What he wanted to participate in was not only the cultivation of the medicinal fields, but also every bit of his life, including this emotion that quietly bloomed like the evening primrose.
Yunwu stared at him blankly, looking at Shenbozhou's honest and passionate eyes in the sunlight, in which her own figure was clearly reflected, as well as a warmth of being fully accepted and deeply understood.
He felt his cheeks getting hot and his heartbeat lost its usual rhythm.
He lowered his head, looking at the tiny packet of flower seeds in his palm. It felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. It wasn't an expensive gift, but it was more precious than anything else. Because it carried Chen Bozhou's most meticulous observation of him, his most sincere understanding, and his most tender promise.
After a long moment, he gently closed his fingers, tightly gripping the packet of flower seeds in his palm, as if grasping some kind of burning certainty. He raised his head, meeting Chen Bozhou's expectant yet somewhat nervous gaze, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly, a shallow but incredibly real arc.
"Okay," he said softly, his voice softer than ever before, "Let's plant it together."
The sunlight filtered through the gaps between the branches and leaves, dancing on his smiling face. There seemed to be twinkling stars in his eyes, which were always calm.
Chen Bozhou looked at his smile and felt that all the worries, fears, and uncertainties of the past few days disappeared at this moment, and his heart was filled with great satisfaction and joy.
He knew that what he gave was not just a bag of flower seeds, but also a token of his thoughtfulness. Yunwu accepted it and was willing to water the flowers with him, waiting for them to bloom.
The two looked at each other and smiled. Without saying anything, it seemed as if they had already said a thousand words. They walked side by side on the way home, their figures stretched out in the dense shade of summer green, intertwined and entwined, unable to be separated from each other.
And that small bag of flower seeds was lying quietly in the palm of the cloud, foreshadowing that a new journey of waiting for the flowers to bloom together was about to begin.
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