Chapter 9: The East Wind Blows Thousands of Flowers at Night
Chapter 9: The East Wind Blows Thousands of Flowers at Night
As the lights came on at night, Chi Shu, who had spent half a day of leisure time aimlessly alone, was walking on his way home. When he looked up, he saw only snow falling all over the sky and strangers walking in groups of three or two.
Chi Shu looked at their figures and inexplicably thought of what he had seen and heard in the amusement park before.
For a moment, it seemed as if the cheers and laughter were still echoing in my ears, and the warm and beautiful scenes were still appearing before my eyes, but those pictures were all warm family love that belonged only to others.
Only the flying snow at this moment is within her reach.
Only the slight chill falling on her fingertips at this moment was what she could truly feel.
This feeling made her feel both refreshed and lost. When she came to her senses, she realized that she had involuntarily walked to the side with the street lights, as if she wanted the lights to keep her company.
She continued walking slowly with her head lowered. When she passed by the steps somewhere, her eyes swept across the "illuminated piano keys" on the panel. She suddenly felt that they were the romantic music that belonged only to this city at night.
Only a light whistle sounded in the silent night, and then a Bentley Flying Spur appeared in Chi Shu's sight. The Roussillon red color of the car body was very recognizable in this dimly lit night.
This car was specially customized by Feng's father for Feng Yichen as a coming-of-age and entrance ceremony gift for his 18th birthday. The customized color of the car body was also specially given to him as a gift because it carries some precious memories of Feng's father in the past.
Along with the gift was a long-awaited, legally approved, and constructed Chinese-style garden, the "Qingyun Manor," valued at 11.8 billion yuan. The birthday party was held there. Feng Yichen also personally donated 1.8 billion yuan to various fields, including education, science, and medicine.
However, at that birthday party, Chi Shu didn't even have the means to receive Feng Yichen's invitation text message.
Chi Shu stopped and looked at the car lights, the decorative lanterns on the green belts on both sides of the road, and the strings of lights on the trees. The person in the car had already rolled down the window and was now sitting in the driver's seat looking in her direction.
The scene at this moment struck her as precisely like the line in the poem: "That person is there, where the lights are dim." It seemed only such a sentence could adequately capture this unique mood and feeling.
She walked towards the car and immediately saw Feng Yichen leaning over from the driver's seat to greet her:
"What a coincidence, we meet here. Where are you planning to go?"
"I'm just getting ready to go home." Chi Shu responded gently.
"Get in the car, I'll take you there."
Chi Shu was about to decline politely when he heard Feng Yichen continue gently, "Don't think you'll bother me. I just happen to have something to tell you, but it's not convenient to park here. Let's get in the car first."
This made it difficult for Chi Shu to refuse, so she stopped talking and raised her hand to pat the unmelted snow on her white hat and her fur-collared embroidered cotton coat of the same color, and then got into the car.
The air conditioning in the car has a suitable temperature, which instantly dispels the coldness brought by the wind and snow, making people feel more comfortable.
Chi Shu took off his cashmere gloves and put them on his legs. He covered his cheeks with his warm palms to relieve the coolness. He turned around and asked him, "What did you want to tell me just now?"
“…” Feng Yichen couldn’t help but feel a pause in his heart.
Hearing Chi Shu's direct question, he remained silent for a moment. Seeing her joy at such a time and place didn't even allow him to find any reasons or excuses. He was just instinctively driven to have more interactions with her and stay a little longer, so he could only say something else:
"Could you please tell me where your home is right now so I can start navigation?"
Chi Shu then gave him an address for him to search.
Seeing that the location in the navigation was still quite far from the previous apartment, Feng Yichen seemed to casually talk about another topic:
"Did you move there after graduating from high school? Did you still live in the apartment next to the school before that?"
"Not entirely, but it's a bit complicated. I live here completely now. As for the apartment, I only stay there occasionally when I go to school."
Chi Shu answered truthfully, then thought about the question he had asked when he wanted to turn on the navigation, so he asked with some doubt:
"But how did you know? We didn't have time to talk about this at the time."
Feng Yichen rubbed his thumbs on the steering wheel lightly twice, looked at the road ahead and replied softly:
"Because, after graduation, I went back to school a few times, thinking that I might run into you by chance, but until the announcement period for the 'Outstanding Graduates' list ended, I didn't see you."
Some unpleasant memories came flooding back to Chi Shu along with these words. He remained silent for a long while before finding his voice again:
"It was all so rushed. I didn't even have the chance to tell anyone back then. I didn't know you were waiting for news from me, and I certainly didn't expect you to return to school. After all, you were about to go on field trips with your uncles. I wanted to share the acceptance letter with you when I received it, but... I was powerless and helpless."
Hearing this, Feng Yichen glanced at Chi Shu who was lost in thought. Suddenly, he felt that discussing some things in depth would only bring up more unpleasant memories, so he comforted him:
"It's all in the past, don't dwell on it. When I saw your name and the corresponding message on the list, I was certain we would be in the same school. Fortunately, at least that's all come true now, so try to slowly let go of those unhappy memories."
Chi Shu responded softly, looking at the snowflakes falling on the windshield, he felt inexplicably relieved. He turned his head to look at Feng Yichen in the driver's seat, only to find that he was wearing a decent and neat suit today. His appearance was still quite clear and handsome, but also revealed an indescribable mature charm.
After a moment, she asked:
"Do you have anything to do today?"
Feng Yichen chuckled for some reason, then turned his head to look at her and responded softly:
"Today, at the behest of my family elders, I went alone to the home of a senior business leader to pay a visit and entertain guests. It just ended a while ago, and I unexpectedly ran into you on the way back. So, where did you just come from on this holiday today?"
Chi Shu's eyes dimmed for a moment, and she described her ordinary day without any emotion:
"I wandered around a lot today. I just came out of the amusement park and was about to walk home while enjoying the snow."
The words were ordinary, and the schedule was ordinary, but Feng Yichen still felt that her voice seemed a little depressed. After thinking for a while, he asked her:
"Do you have time now? If you're not in a hurry to go home, let's go somewhere together."
Chi Shu hesitated for a moment and replied: "...Okay"
This made Feng Yichen stunned for a moment: "Why didn't you ask me where I was going?"
"Anywhere is fine." This sentence seemed a bit subtle, so Chi Shu immediately added: "I have nothing to do anyway."
Feng Yichen raised the corners of his lips slightly when he heard this, but he didn't say anything.
The car soon arrived at a park with bright lights and bustling crowds of people.
The night has already spread over the city's skyline, but in this corner of the park, the lanterns everywhere have silently dyed this Lantern Festival night into a warm yellow warmth.
On both sides of the red arch of the "Lantern Festival" at the entrance of the park, the zodiac lantern group and the giant lotus lantern rotate symmetrically, and the endless stream of people below present an extraordinary and lively scene on this night.
This scene was somewhat beyond Chi Shu's expectations. Her eyes flickered with light because of the lights. She turned to look at Feng Yichen, who had already parked the car and was about to put on his woolen coat. She felt that today's encounters were quite surprising to her, and she even felt a little happy:
"When I was at the amusement park today, I heard there was a lantern festival going on. So this is the place you were talking about?"
Feng Yichen turned his head and looked back, and saw the unconcealed joy in her eyes. At the same time, he was also infected by her and smiled:
"Yes, let's go for a walk together."
On the trails along the lake, rows of revolving lanterns are hung, with many patterns on the lanterns, such as "Chang'e Flying to the Moon, Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine, Winning the Laurel in the Moon Palace, and Fish Every Year", flowing between light and shadow.
After they slowly visited various areas of the park square, the atmosphere led them to the lantern riddle area, which was bustling with people.
Rows of red slips of paper dangled from pine branches. People stood amidst the mysteries, some huddled together to ponder, some rummaged through their phones for clues, and some held up the answers to redeem prizes.
Seeing that everyone was enjoying the riddles, Feng Yichen turned to ask Chi Shu for his opinion:
"Would you like to guess one?"
In line with the Chinese principle of "since we're already here, let it be", Chi Shu did not refuse to enjoy this moment of intellectual revelry, and said without a trace of disappointment:
"Okay, let's take a look together."
However, they did not expect that these riddles were so novel and creative. Since they enjoyed it, they naturally guessed more than one riddle and solved more than one answer.
…Snowflakes slowly fell from the night sky, following the red lanterns on the treetops and the light wicks, gently and quietly blending into the warm atmosphere of the people on the ground…
Time also melts away with light and shadow in every corner of the vast snow scene...
After guessing the lantern riddles, the two of them leisurely walked with the bustling crowd, strolling among the lights and shadows of various lanterns in the park's various landscapes, and had inadvertently become a dark color in this snowy scene.
While taking a break at the snack bar, the two sat in the outdoor greenhouse and could see snow falling on the frozen lake and hear laughter and joy coming from not far away.
Looking up, I felt that the whole park was immersed in a warm and peaceful atmosphere, and even the snow in the sky seemed to be wrapped in the warmth and tenderness of this Lantern Festival.
Chi Shu looked at the steaming red bean paste dumplings and three signature sweet snacks in front of her. She scooped up a dumpling and tasted it, and suddenly felt herself immersed in a whirlpool of sweetness.
Suddenly she realized that this Lantern Festival was not bad after all, and it even gave her an unexpected surprise and comfort.
On this special day, she tried to join in the excitement of others so that she could feel a little warmth and happiness. However, as time passed and she was pressed, she still had to walk out of the bustling crowd. However, now someone appeared in front of her when she least expected it, and gently and friendly invited her to approach the joy and beauty of the world again. Moreover, this person was the one she secretly liked.
How could she not be moved by such a situation?
She almost felt that the steam from the bowl was about to soak her eyes. She blinked to make the things in front of her clear again, then looked up at Feng Yichen across the table and said slowly, as if confiding and casually:
"When I went to the amusement park today, I realized how much trouble it can be to be alone in a noisy and joyful atmosphere. But now I'm in that same atmosphere, and it feels completely different. Thank you for bringing me here today."
As soon as he heard her say this, Feng Yichen realized the difference in her current state. He looked at her expression and responded after a moment:
"You're welcome. If you enjoy your trip today, it's well worth it. Of course, if there's somewhere you want to go later, you can also invite... your friends along."
He said so, and after thinking for a moment, he couldn't help but add: "Or you can just tell me directly."
Knowing that his words came from the heart, Chi Shu couldn't help but be moved:
"Actually, I was a little nervous before this, worried that if I was in a bad mood, I would also bring negative emotions to others. I thought it might be better to be alone for a while, but I didn't expect to meet you by chance. Thank you for your company. I am really happy now, so I am very grateful."
Feng Yichen couldn't help but chuckled and said gently:
"Being happy is a good thing. But your polite thanks make it seem like I didn't benefit from this trip at all. You probably don't know that I'm also very happy to be able to spend this Lantern Festival with you today and to say 'Happy Lantern Festival' to you in person. So this is a fair two-way return. Don't feel burdened."
Hearing this, Chi Shu smiled gently and nodded slightly. Understanding his good intentions, she didn't say anything more.
The two of them slowly savored the dessert that symbolized reunion, letting the hot steam linger in this cold winter night.
Time flows slowly in such a warm atmosphere.
When we walked out of the greenhouse, the snow was still falling, gently floating on the shoulders and sides of every passerby, but no one was in a hurry to leave.
The heartwarming scenes made this snowy night seem a little warmer.
Chi Shu suddenly felt that this was probably the most leisurely and happy Lantern Festival she had ever had in all those years - she enjoyed the lanterns, tasted the flavor of reunion, had collectible souvenirs and small gifts, and also had the memory of walking in the snowy scene on a winter night with someone.
The snowflakes are like crumpled cotton wool, leaving no trace when they fall to the ground, but their gentle touch has been frozen in the mark of time...
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