Winter was always gray.
A gray-white sky, gray-black ground, and drab pedestrians who could barely open their eyes in the biting wind.
The Flower Shop, just a door away, was different. A figure moved among its riot of colors, wearing a pure white down jacket and black trousers, as unadorned as a pristine kapok blossom on a cliff.
The longer Bai Congming spent with Ding Ding, the more he loved simple colors like these.
Wrapped in love for so long, he no longer needed to dress himself up like a flower to win anyone's affection.
Bai Congming arrived a little late. Others had already beaten him to the Flower Shop.
Jeff was excited about attending his first Chinese party and had arrived early that morning; with nothing else to do, the Zheng siblings had come in almost on his heels.
Auntie Zhou had something to attend to, so she had asked Zheng Xixi to bring two hand-knitted sweaters: a black one for Ding Ding and a light green one for Little Bai.
Ding Shu had stopped by to drop off Sun Chang'an, then left, saying she would come back later with her older sisters.
Jeff was friendly and could chat with anyone. He was especially thrilled to discover that Zheng Xixi spoke Hindi, insisting that Sun Xiangxiang turn on the speakers so he could invite Zheng Xixi to dance.
Behind the counter, Bai Congming took small mouthfuls of the porridge Ding Ding had ordered for him, struggling to spare an ear for Sun Xiangxiang.
"Okay, Little Bai?"
"Okay!" Bai Congming agreed. He ate the last meatball that went with his porridge and looked up. "What?"
"..."
Sun Xiangxiang took a deep breath. She felt like an anxious eunuch at the Little Emperor's side, and there was only one reason for