The big yellow girl

Bai Congming had never met anyone like her.

She was warm, radiant, and lively, and her words came pelting down like a torrential rain.

Bai Congming struggled a little to keep up, slowly digesting what Sun Xiangxiang was saying.

He needed to give flowers, to talk, to keep trying.

Still carried away, Sun Xiangxiang hadn't stopped. One moment she warned him not to pester, and the next she told him not to give up easily.

Her earnest manner reminded him very much of Bai Congming's elementary school Chinese teacher.

Bai Congming stood a little straighter, clasping both hands behind his back and listening very attentively. There was something nostalgic about his proper posture.

"I think..." Sun Xiangxiang pinched her chin. "Since he was willing to let you... do that, he must really like you!"

"Likes me..." Bai Congming murmured.

Sun Xiangxiang nodded repeatedly. "Of course! Otherwise, tell me why he left."

Perhaps because she resembled a teacher, Bai Congming became the good student whose name had been called in class, not daring to hide a single thing.

"Don't know," Bai Congming said quietly. "Don't know why..."

Sun Xiangxiang's eyes darted around before she pursed her lips and offered a very troubling answer.

"Could it be... he doesn't like you that much?"

Bai Congming froze. "Doesn't like me?"

Beside him, Sun Xiangxiang failed to notice his body going rigid and continued talking to herself.

"Right. If he liked you a whole lot, he definitely wouldn't have left. But you're so cute... Huh???"

The sobbing beside her startled her. "Don't cry!"

"My wife! Doesn't like me! He left!"

"Don't cry! Don't cry, little brother!" Sun Xiangxiang fumbled helplessly. "He likes you! You're so cute! How could anyone not like you? Don't cry, don't cry!"

Ever since his mother had been gone, Bai Congming had rarely cried, but when he truly started, he was just as he had been before, not holding anything back.

His wailing soon drew the others' attention, and the Flower Nursery manager jogged over.

"What happened? Xiangxiang, are you all right?"

"What could possibly be wrong with me!"

Sun Xiangxiang impatiently pushed the manager away, throwing in an eye roll before turning back to comfort the little brother who was crying his heart out.

"I... I was just saying that. What if... what if something came up for him, right?"

"...Doesn't like me..."

Her enthusiasm for gossip vanished in an instant, and Sun Xiangxiang floundered, not knowing what to do.

The manager couldn't stand watching any longer. There was no reason to make a customer worry over this. A phone call brought Auntie Zhou out from her work inside.

Seeing Auntie Zhou approach, Bai Congming hurriedly choked back his cries, afraid he would be told to go rest again.

The effort he put into controlling the corners of his mouth was both heartbreaking and funny to see. Auntie Zhou walked over.

"Why are you crying? Did someone upset you?"

Sun Xiangxiang was terribly embarrassed. "I didn't mean to... I was just teasing him..."

"All right," the Flower Nursery manager said with a frown. "Why bring him out here for no reason? Hurry and take him back!"

Auntie Zhou murmured her assent, took Bai Congming's hand, and walked back to Greenhouse No. 3.

Tears fell all along the way, and his suppressed sobbing never stopped. Somewhat helpless, Auntie Zhou let out a long breath.

Bai Congming's shoulders jerked, and even his sobbing stopped.

"What's wrong, Little Bai? Tell Auntie?"

Bai Congming remembered Sun Xiangxiang's words again, and the corners of his downturned mouth sank a little farther.

"My wife... doesn't like me... He left!"

"Little Bai has a wife?"

Auntie Zhou was startled, then delighted.

She and Bai Congming's mother had worked at the Flower Nursery since they were young. With the boy's condition, leaving him home alone wasn't a good option, so after getting Granny Sun's permission, his mother had brought Bai Congming to the Flower Nursery.

From Little Zhou to Auntie Zhou, she had watched Bai Congming grow up.

She knew what Bai Congming's mother had worried about most, but Auntie Zhou had a family of her own, and there was only so much she could help with.

Now that she heard Little Bai was going to have a wife, she thought that if his mother knew in the afterlife, she could finally rest easy.

"Whose daughter is she?" Auntie Zhou hurriedly asked.

Bai Congming sniffled without speaking. Auntie Zhou didn't press him, only tightening her hold on his hand.

"Just because she left doesn't necessarily mean she doesn't like you. Like your mother-she loved you so much, but she still had no choice but to leave, didn't she?"

Bai Congming said nothing, but Auntie Zhou knew he was listening.

"Even if he really doesn't like you, Little Bai, do you remember the big brother who used to work at the Flower Nursery?"

"Big brother..." Bai Congming murmured.

"Yes," Auntie Zhou said slowly. "He didn't like our Little Bai at first, but later he treated our Little Bai so well!"

The big brother Auntie Zhou meant was a researcher Granny Sun had paid a hefty sum to bring to the Flower Nursery to help improve its soil several years ago.

Surrounded by intelligent people in his research work, he couldn't conceal his distaste and disgust upon suddenly encountering someone with an intellectual disability. He had even refused to work in the same greenhouse as Bai Congming, believing he would interfere with his experimental data.

Life was unpredictable. He probably hadn't expected that when the day came for him to leave, Bai Congming would be the one he worried about most.

Even now, that researcher still called from time to time to ask how Bai Congming was doing.

"Little Bai is so good. Nobody could dislike him."

"Even if they don't like you now, they'll like you later."

"Little Bai, you just need to do what you want in your heart. But you must never bully anyone, understand?"

Bai Congming blinked, looking as though he only half understood, and answered slowly.

"Understand."

"..."

By the time Bai Congming was led back into the Flower Nursery, his tears had stopped.

Auntie Zhou mixed the pesticide solution for him and sent him to treat the little patch of gardenias for pests. He always did this sort of delicate work very well.

Toward evening, Sun Xiangxiang returned to the Flower Nursery.

Led by the manager, Sun Xiangxiang entered Greenhouse No. 3. Seeing the busy figure of the intellectually disabled little brother in the distance, she thought for a moment and headed toward Auntie Zhou first.

"I'm sorry about today," Sun Xiangxiang said, her face full of guilt. "I caused you trouble."

"Not at all," Auntie Zhou said. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even know Little Bai was about to have a partner."

"It's my fault for getting a little carried away back then." Sun Xiangxiang sighed. "His name's Little Bai?"

"His name is Bai Congming."

Sun Xiangxiang smiled. "That's a good name."

"Yes." Auntie Zhou's eyes curved with her smile too. "His mother's surname was Bai."

"Ah..." Whatever Sun Xiangxiang had imagined, her gaze held a little tenderness when she looked over again. "Can I go talk to him?"

"Of course."

Sun Xiangxiang walked over. Bai Congming was holding a small spray bottle, spraying the solution at the plants' roots. His mood was steady, and he was deeply focused.

"Little Bai, little brother."

Hearing her voice, Bai Congming turned his head.

"Sunflower Sister."

The name surprised Sun Xiangxiang and secretly delighted her.

That's right! I'm the legendary sunflower, yellow through and through!

Sun Xiangxiang chuckled. "I made you cry today. How about I give you a present to apologize?"

Under Bai Congming's puzzled gaze, Sun Xiangxiang took a book as thick as a brick from her bag. Its brightly colored cover was especially eye-catching.

"This comic will definitely help you!"

Sun Xiangxiang handed him the book. "Help you win your wife back!"